Roman is a Darkly Beautiful Experiment in Role Reversal and Psychological Thrills
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Roman takes one of the most acclaimed independent horror movies of the new millennium and flips it.
Written by BHM Contributor James “Crypticpsych” Lasome
October 21, 2008
Release: March 27, 2007 (U.S. DVD)
Directed by: Angela Bettis
Written by: Lucky McKee
Starring:
Lucky McKee as Roman
Nectar Rose as Eva/Dream Girl
Kristen Bell as The Girl/Isis
Ben Boyer as Russ
Mike McKee as Leroy Wolf
Jesse Hlubik as Jesse
In 2002, Lucky McKee directed Angela Bettis in May, the story of a social misfit girl searching for love, acceptance and the perfect friend in a world filled with flawed people. The film would simultaneously become a cult classic independent horror film and launch a film making career that would also give us the unique and well-received Masters of Horror entry Sick Girl, also starring Bettis.
After making Sick Girl, McKee found a story he had written in college; a story that would become Roman. McKee wanted to see how one of his stories would look through the eyes of another director, so began an experiment in role reversal in which Bettis would make her directorial debut while McKee would take on the starring role.
Roman is the story of a quiet, shy welder whose life outside of work consists of going to�his sparely furnished apartment, staring out his picture window and following his pretty neighbor (Kristen Bell) down to get the
mail when she passes by at roughly 5:30PM each day. Afterwards, he heads back to his apartment, drinks his beer, and stares out of his now-closed window, dreaming and obsessing about her. One day, by pure chance, he is drinking his beer on the apartment building roof when she joins him. They appear to hit it off, though his compliments and comments to her are a little weird and off-putting, because she’s a bit weird herself. Ever wondered about the finer points of pork-n-beans manufacturing? All your answers are here in one of many darkly comedic moments.
A few days later he invites his neighbor over for a drink in his apartment. Unfortunately, he begins to come on too strong, causing her to try and leave. Roman forcefully tries to get her to stay and inadvertently kills her in the process. He can’t cope with what he’s done and instead keeps her body, on ice, in his bathtub. He tortures himself over her, having mental flashes and talking to her corpse as if she were still alive. He begins to eat nothing but pork-n-beans and finally begins taking excursions to the lake to dispose of her body one part at a time. This method of “moving on” 
actually begins to work for him as he slowly let’s go. Then Eva (Nectar Rose) moves into the complex.
Eva, a plant and flower-loving artist, takes an immediate liking to Roman; he is afraid to return the feelings thinking she will not be safe with him. As she moves more and more into his life he discovers her dark fascination with death and the macabre and is deeply shaken by it. His subconscious also refuses to let go of the prior murder which haunts him whenever he is around Eva. Can Roman let go of his past mistake and start fresh with someone new, and will he end up happy if he is successful?
Roman is interesting in that it is very much a sister film to May yet not a sequel. May is about a shy woman trying to find friends, love and acceptance and Roman is, at first, about a shy man trying to find the same. As in May this ending is a bit predictable yet fits well enough with the rest of the film to feel welcome and fresh. Both are based strongly in how other characters perceive the lead as “abnormal”. In terms of genre, 
however, May is more “slasher” fare while this film is based on the horrors of a man’s mind and his attempts to battle them. The tact is completely different. The murder of the neighbor is a tipping point into a process of grieving and psychological self-torture rather than a death that occurs to movie the film and story toward its conclusion.
McKee is brilliant as the title character and turns in a heartbreakingly real performance that makes you want him to find what he’s looking for and hope that all will be all right. One can see that, while he is a bit weird, he is not a bad person; Insane events were thrust upon Roman by accident. Nectar Rose is fantastic, outshining the bigger name, Kristen Bell. While Bell is good in her role as the initial love interest, her performance always seems a bit too hesitant around McKee for the viewer to actually want to see him end up with her. Rose, in contrast, nails a tough balancing act between loopy free spirit and morbidly dark death fanatic to create a loveable character you wouldn’t mind having dinner or a beer with yourself.
The outstanding music and sound are crucial to this film, from Roman drawing a TV on his wall and pretending to watch the Spanish soap opera that his neighbor has on too loud to the auditory and visual hallucinations and fantasies as he copes with his actions. Even the uses of welding sounds are perfect; besides their obvious part of Roman’s job the welding sounds and imagery associated with them interfere with his daily life as part of his mental issues over the murder and turn simple and stunningly beautiful hallucinations into jarring, noisy experiences.
This film is a unique experience that starts in the realm of May before going in an enjoyable new direction. This is not stereotypical horror, and that’s a good thing. McKee should be very proud of his story and his surprising acting debut, and Bettis should feel even better about a great directing debut. Here’s to hoping that this duo continues to produce original genre fare, together or not. Questions or comments about Roman? Discuss it on The Ossuary Forums!
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