Roman (2006) - Review and Analysis by Jason Pitt for Critical-Film.com

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Roman A film review by Jason Pitt For Critical-film.com   Lucky McKee & Angela Bettis' relationship is much like that of George Clooney & Steven Soderbergh: frequent collaborators in one form or another. Angela Bettis has worked with Lucky McKee, to some degree, in four films, and an episode of the ‘Masters of Horror' television series. Their collaboration on ‘Roman,' however, is slightly askew. A role-reversal of sorts, finds Bettis behind the camera, in the role of director, and McKee in the titular role. The end result works well, if not up to par with their previous efforts.   From the opening shot, it's obvious ‘Roman' was shot on a miniscule budget. The digital(?) video is quite grainy, and the sound is average, although the DVD boasts a surprising DTS track. The film relies on too many fade-outs, as nearly every sequence ends in a fade-to-black, and seems quite amateurish in production because of it. This shouldn't hamper the quality of the film, but ‘Roman' is just not that good.   Take the protagonist of McKee's film, ‘May', make her a male, and distort certain aspects of the story to make it seem original, and you have ‘Roman.' Roman is somewhat disturbed, and completely fascinated with a girl that lives across his apartment building. He watches her daily, leaving her apartment, getting her mail, and any other chances he gets. After their first genuine encounter, they begin to spend time together, as she seems to be completely oblivious to his more than creepy behaviour. After their first kiss, she seems unsettled, and gets up to leave, Roman gets defensive confessing his love and frightening behaviour. This encounter ends in a struggle which leaves said female dead. Roman stores her corpse in a bed of ice in his bathroom, removing parts for disposal, as needed. Meanwhile he meets another woman who is obsessed with death. (Not to mention, also completely oblivious to his stalker-ish personality).   ‘Roman' could have been an interesting film, it's similar to ‘May', to be sure, but has enough unique characteristics for it to stand on it's own two feet. The sequence of events laid out in the previous paragraph all lead up to a great ending seeping with twisted irony, yet the film still seems as though it's incomplete. The reason for this is Lucky McKee's performance in the title role. While his performance is not bad, it is certainly uneven. There are sequences which he seems to channel just the right amount of creepiness, and bitter sympathy for his character that one is completely enthralled. These scenes are counteracted by sequences in which he seems to be pushing a little too much toward creepy, neglecting the remorse that drives us to sympathize with his character despite his actions. Uneven, but honestly, better than I expected from McKee.   The characterization of the title character is quite good however, as we witness Roman's character open up more toward the outside world, thanks to the influence of the females in his life. He still has bizarre obsessions, but he seems more human, and more in control of his emotions. You realize after the film has ended, that maybe there's a little more to what you just watched. Perhaps it was more than just a slightly twisted story about a man and a corpse. There's certainly something worthwhile here, although it seems to be trapped behind the uncertainty of the lead performance, and some very independent production values. Too bad.   (Three stars)   This review was provided in HTML format, as your browser is not capable of displaying flash content. To experience Critical-Film.com the way it was meant to be seen, please download the flash player from <a href="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash&promoid=BIOW">Macromedia</a>.