There are some talented people working in the movie industry who just don't seem to get the big break, no matter how high the quality of their work. A shining example of that can be seen in psychological horror movie May, created by gifted writer/director Luck McKee and starring the quirky genius Angela Bettis. It's an off-beat character piece about a weird, lonely young woman, who has a doll as a best friend, who tries to start a relationship with a handsome mechanic she has a crush on, and even her lesbian female work college. Unfortunately May doesn't deal with these relationships well...and things begin to unravel.
While the direction is subtly unusual and the writing is insightful and mature, it's the casting of Bettis (she played Carrie in the 2002 remake) that makes the story click. She brings balance to a complex mixture of fear, anxiety, nervousness, joy, and shyness making May sympathetic and identifiable...even when she starts losing her grip. Yes, its a psychological horror, but it's also a character study of a psychopath, veering towards arthouse. And that makes it an altogether more original and interesting offering than a film directed by, say Wes Craven and starring Megan Fox. Which is why McKee and Bettis haven't reached the bigtime. Perhaps if Bettis were prettier and McKee more mainstream they'd be A-listers by now...then again, if that were the case, they'd both be employed at Platinum Dunes...and that would be the artistic crime of the century.
