Roman (2006)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Angela Bettis

Writer:

Lucky McKee (writer)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Sometimes Death Is Not So Natural

Plot:

A lonely young man's obsession with his neighbor gets the best of him, resulting in a murder, a cover-up ... and a potential new romance?

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Desperation | Apartment | Factory | Los Angeles

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Lucky McKee	...	Roman
Nectar Rose	...	Eva / Dream Girl
Kristen Bell	...	The Girl / Isis
Ben Boyer	...	Russ
Mike McKee	...	Leroy Wolf
Jesse Hlubik	...	Jesse
Chris Sivertson	...	Lanky Worker
Ernie Banks	...	Cyrus
Adam Gierasch	...	Boyd
Eddie Steeples	...	Detective
Thomas Beaumont	...	The Waiter
Vanessa Menendez	...	Hedda Gabler
Lotus Harmony	...	Dream Girl
Pancho Alvarez	...	Lunch Room Worker
Steve Copeland	...	Lunch Room Worker

Also Known As:

May 2: The Story of Roman (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Auteur Entertainment

Trivia:

Luke Y. Thompson originally shot scenes as French waiter Abdul, but was unable to make re-shoots due to appendicitis and the role had to be recast. Instead, he shot a new scene as a cashier who sells Roman a girlie magazine. Neither character ended up in the final cut.

Quotes:

Isis, the Girl: Do I have something on my face?
Roman: Yes.
Isis, the Girl: What?
Roman: Pretty eyes.

Movie Connections:

References Harvey (1950)

It's not at the same level of May but it's a very interesting experiment

A few years ago,I saw a real masterpiece with a lot of intelligence 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 great.Kristen Bell and Nectar Rose are also great.In spite of being pretentious,a little predictable and not too original,Roman is a very interesting experiment with great performances.