Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Jerrie It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Quebec_Dragon I didn't really know what to expect when I started watching this. Maybe a bit of horror based on the cover and back cover description. It turns out it's some kind of intimate drama with very little horror or gore. Yes, there is death but you won't necessarily realize it's the case right away. A lonely, very tall, socially inept metal welder spends most of its free time drinking beer and smoking in his small, motel-like apartment sitting on his comfy chair looking out the window. At one point, he starts being obsessed with a pretty blonde woman going to get her mail at the same time each day, but doesn't dare contact her. Unlikely as it seems, she makes first contact and they start becoming friends. A while later, at his apartment, a tragic accident occurs.Despite getting main credit, Kirsten Bell, the blonde woman, is not much in the film and is by far the best, most natural actor of the bunch. The "star" is the actor-director Lucky Mckee who acts expressionless most of the time. Appropriate for the character, but easy to act. The other main actress, Nectar Rose, was definitely bad, fake and overacting despite playing an eccentric character. Her arrival provided an interesting twist, but also took me out of the story as she was not believable. The other worse actor was the fat building manager who, I guess, was supposed to be comic relief but just ended up making things even more caricatural. The main character was creepy, disturbing and a bit sad, but more in his passivity and lack of expression. A better actor, especially with his eyes, would have helped. The story had a fairly interesting concept, but it didn't feel as well developed and captivating as it could have been. The pace was slow and contemplative with a little creativity shown in the daydreams. I find the whole movie was brought down by the poor acting and by being tedious. However, it was slightly saved by the somewhat poetic justice of the ending.Rating: 3 out of 10 (poor)

Woodyanders Lucky McKee and Angela Bettis delivered one of the finest, most moving, and startling horror films of the early 21st century when they first collaborated on the remarkable "May." McKee and Bettis get back together for this equally striking and unusual affair, this time with McKee as the star and Bettis handling the directorial duties. The results are every bit as strange, moody, and surprising as one would expect. Lonesome and reclusive social misfit Roman (a subtle and convincing performance by McKee, who also wrote the highly idiosyncratic script) pines for a lovely young lady (a brief, but charming and memorable turn by the comely Kristen Bell) who lives in the same drab apartment complex. Roman befriends the object of his desire, but alas accidentally kills her. He decides to store her body in the bathtub and keeps it preserved with ice. Matters get complicated when flaky nonconformist free spirit Eva (delightfully played by the perky and adorable Nectar Rose) enters Roman's life and falls in love with him. McKee and Bettis expertly craft a strangely haunting and poignant character study of a fascinating maladjusted sadsack guy which also works as a very morbid and peculiar, yet thoughtful and provocative meditation on love, death, alienation, the basic human need for companionship, and the insanity of loneliness. Moreover, McKee and Bettis firmly ground the whole thing in an utterly plausible pedestrian reality which adds substantially to the movie's overall effectiveness. McKee and Rose do outstanding work in the lead roles. Kevin Ford's crisp cinematography offers a wondrous wealth of stunningly beautiful visuals. Jaye Barnes Luckett's brooding score likewise hits the harmonic spot. The surprise downbeat ending packs a powerful emotional wallop to the gut. Although the film gets bogged down a bit in overly slow pacing and suffers from a few pretentious stylistic flourishes, it nonetheless has a weirdly timeless quality and quirky appeal that's uniquely its own. Those expecting a standard ooga-booga jump-out-at-you horror shockfest will be disappointed and frustrated in equal measure; folks with a taste for something different and out of the ordinary should really dig this supremely oddball picture. Recommended.

Argemaluco A few years ago,I saw a real masterpiece called May.In 2002,that movie showed director Lucky McKee as one of the most original and fresh new voices of contemporary horror.But,his following works were not what the people expected from him with May.The Woods was not a bad film but it was miles away from May and his episode in Masters of Horror was very mediocre.Now comes Roman,written and starred by McKee and directed by Angela Bettis,the main actress from May.The result is not as good as May,but the film is a pretty interesting experiment.The story of Roman is a little similar to May but there's a difference;in May,the main character stays away from people,looking for refuge on her sick mind;in Roman,the main character tries to stop being shy.The film gets a disturbing tone on some simple scenes.Also,the movie has a good level of surrealism(like the scene Roman goes picnic).McKee's screenplay and Bettis' direction show some typical things from cinema students like excessive pretension and artistic ambition.The performances are really good.McKee shows potential as an actor because his work is quite solid.Kristen Bell and Nectar Rose bring competent works.In spite of being pretentious,a little predictable and not too original,Roman is an interesting experiment.

infomage Roman would have made an excellent short film, if it was made outside of Hollywood, by people who knew nothing about film. Oh, wait, did I say film? I meant video. Strangely there is no attempt to escape the camcorder look and scratchy open mic sound. The compression on the incidental sound effects (cars passing, doors closing, etc.) has such an irritating level of attack... I mean... yuck. The lack of attention to technical details is just atrocious. The lighting is two-dimensional, the blocking is repetitive and is all angled either too low or too high.In the sense of story, there is potential. You don't, unfortunately, get the sense that Roman is time bomb where 'the girl' is concerned, which is unfortunate. His big mistake with the girl really has no rhyme or reason. I mean this was shot on video folks, what was stopping you from getting enough takes to reach an appropriate level of intensity. Even Kristin Bell was operating well below her A-Game in this pivotal scene.