Lucky McKee’s “May”
Monday, October 27th, 2008Matty and I took in the 4th Annual Midnight Movie Massacre this past weekend. This 24 hour horror movie bender at one of Chicago’s richest cultural treasure’s - The Music Box Theatre - has become an annual tradition we indulge in to celebrate the best fucking month and finest of holidays.
The movie selection was pretty great this year, starting with John Barrymore in “Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde” backed by a live pipe organ accompaniment, “Dead Alive” at midnight, and closing at 9:30am on Sunday with William Friedkin’s still cripplingly terrifying “The Exorcist“.
I finally was able to see the french classic “Eyes Without A Face” which I can’t recommend enough. But clearly the highlight of the weekend was Lucky McKee’s off beat slasher (?) movie, “May“. Following an oddly alluring young vet clinic assistant through several aborted attempts at love and acceptance, “May” manages to thread it’s surprisingly sweet and sympathetically violent logic throughout the entire narrative ultimately tying off with the only morbid bow possible. The acting, particular by the lead Angela Bettis and Jeremy Sisto is remarkable, the directing and writing is intelligent without being pretensious or overly self-conscious, and the development of May’s unique quirkiness is painted with a studied realism that allows the otherwise hyperbolic and impressionistic narrative to float safely above it’s own murky waters.
Much of this movie’s tone and temperament and humor reminded me of “Heathers”; smart, compassionate, yet wickedly self-assured. I’m looking forward to checking out more of Lucky’s work very soon.