The Darling Buds of May

Director Lucky McKee pieces together a macabre, but somehow sweet story of isolation and friendship with his 2002 film May.

Angela Bettis stars as title character, May,  a young woman living with the struggle of a troubled (though largely implied ) past. May lives alone,  her best friend, a creepy porcelain doll locked in a box, Susie, silently overseeing her every move. May is a mousey, immature, withdrawn creature, with no apparent friends or family,  except perhaps her sexually aggressive Co worker  (Ana Faris). But May met a boy. ….

May pursues Adam (Jeremy Sisto) in the only ways she knows how, by following him, peeking at him from around corners, getting in his personal space while he’s asleep. Lucky for May, Adam takes the bait. But, don’t you think I’m weird? She ponders.

I like weird, he assures her.

Spoiler alert: May isn’t exactly adorkable weird. She isn’t ‘thick glasses and knee socks’ weird. She’s not cute, mainstream, rom-com weird.

May is disconcerting.

And she just cannot seem to find a friend.

This film, despite its darkness and eventual gore, is poignant and lovely, a times. May is somehow relatable,  even amidst this atmosphere of doom. She is desperate and lonely,  and her need for companionship isn’t such a far stretch for the average viewer.  She’s in turns horrifying and endearing, and we cannot help but silently root for her. 

There is a fairy tale quality about this film, a whimsical account of one girls attempt to fit into a world she was never prepared for. As she seeks to find a friend in her life,  May begins to learn a number of things, one of the most apparent lessons being that there’s something good in all of us, but it may not, exactly make up a whole.

Tender and gruesome,  May is artsy and cool, and maybe just a tiny bit pretentious. It has heart and horror, and it is worth your time.

Life Lessons:
1. Sewing can be a useful skill
2. Weird isn’t always cute. We can’t all be Zoey Deschanel
3. If you can be your own worst enemy, why not your own best friend?
4. Girl on girl workplace harassment is a thing
5. It is easy to f*@k up your children