May (Angela Bettis) is an extremely lonely young woman looking for that perfect somebody. She mourns the fact that people have “pretty parts, but no pretty wholes.” She meets Adam (Jeremy Sisto), who is initially interested, but soon creeped out by her, particularly when she bites him. She then tries to make a relationship with co-worker Polly (Anna Faris), who cheats on her, which finally sets May down the road to madness she’s been destined for.
While May gets extremely gory (for example when May cuts out her own eye) it’s certainly not mindless violence. What the film implies is that it’s pointless to try to find physical perfection. May is on a false trail. It’s the much more rational Adam and Polly who try to convince her that “Nobody’s perfect” and “It’s imperfections that make you special.” (Indeed, the unnaturalness of May’s desires is emphasized by continual allusions to Frankenstein—a man who tried to defy the natural law.) May, as often happens in society, reduces people to parts and takes the wholes for granted.
I didn’t enjoy May on my first viewing (though it wasn’t the company–my girlfriend at the time). I thought it was weird and disturbing—in a bad way. However upon subsequent viewings, I appreciate the brutality of the film, since people (particularly women) do brutal things because they can’t accept themselves for not being perfect. I recommend it to anyone, with specific emphasis on those who, like me, would enjoy watching Angela Bettis and Anna Faris make out.
