Roman (2006)
Review by Peter Syslo

ROMAN (2006) is another collaboration of Lucky McKee and Angela Bettis. This time around, Bettis is directing and McKee is acting. It is sort of a male version of MAY, but for some reason I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I did MAY or SICK GIRL. Don’t get me wrong, I think that ROMAN is a well-made film – it’s very artistic, McKee’s writing is incredible and Bettis’ directing is solid. However, the film is so realistic and so bleak, at times, that it is almost tough to watch, in places. Let me clarify; TRAINSPOTTING was a beautifully crafted movie, but at times I didn’t have fun watching it – the subject matter was just unbelievably depressing at times. That was sort of the case with ROMAN – it is a beautiful film, but at times, I didn’t enjoy it.
ROMAN is directed by Angela Bettis and is written by Lucky McKee. The film stars Lucky McKee (Roman), Kristen Bell, Nectar Rose (Eva), Ben Boyer, Mike McKee, and Jesse Hlubik.
The film is about a man named Roman. He is a socially awkward man who works at a machine shop. He has trouble relating to his co-workers and he has even more trouble relating to women. He is actually like a Gregor Samsa from Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” – he is very dependable and hard-working, but he doesn’t have a life outside of work. All he does is work, come home, sit on his couch, smoke cigarettes and drink a few beers, and eat pork & beans. He also has a voyeuristic obsession with his neighbor (Bell) in the apartment across the courtyard. One day they get to talking and it turns romantic (in the most awkward way – man, watching this made me cringe; I’ve had moments like that). However, the horror begins when Roman accidentally kills her in a Lenny-from-“Of Mice and Men” way. So what does he do? He tells no one, keeps the b ody on ice in his bathtub, and he disposes of a body part every Sunday (“their day”). Shortly after that, Roman meets Eva, a pixie-like artist who also lives in the building. The two start dating and eventually they fall in love. Even though Roman resists, they are a really good match and he starts to change for the better, opening up to his co-workers, etc. However, the horror continues as he finds out that Eva has a special darkness all her own.
ROMAN is really a great story of love and relationships. McKee has nailed this topic with everything that he has done. His acting was really good, also; he played a shy, awkward, introvert really well and he was able to easily shift into that “creepy guy” who “stalks” women. But, the whole story is heart-breaking because, like May, Roman is a very likeable guy – we all have a little bit of his awkwardness within us. You want to see him find love, yet once he does it’s just horrible what happens to him. It really was an accident with what happened to Bell’s character and Roman isn’t a murderer, in the traditional sense. He is a creature of routine and he finally starts to break out of his routines when he meets Eva. She is like a lot of women that I have known, with that slightly annoying yet “grows-on-you” quality which draws you in . The message of the film may be that fact of how a relationship draws you in, you invest in it and change, and then once you have committed to it – it’s gone, no matter how much you try to hold on. Hence, Roman’s attempt to hold onto the body parts as long as he could.
The movie is very good and it has a certain quirky charm to it (and some of the best music (by Jaye Barnes Luckett) for the subject matter – they always come through with the musical selections), but it was so bleak and despairing at moments, that it lost some of its warmth and character. To explain; Roman’s existence consists of sitting on his couch, in front of his window, waiting for his neighbor to walk by. He has no TV (not that there’s anything wrong with that), no friends, pale walls, and a minimalist lifestyle – I actually started feeling the “blandness” of the routines after watching it. However, the story itself and the directing really made the movie, along with Rose’s great performance as the free-spirited Eva – she was such a good contrast to Roman. It’s just as creepy as MAY and it may even be darker – even in MAY ther e was a happy ending, so to speak.