the audience applauded

Strong and Moving!

Admirable film.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Being a huge fan of the movie May, I was ecstatic in waiting for Roman's release. Upon watching it, I had incredibly mixed feelings on it, but decided I was in love anyway. The character does not have a lot of buildup. You don't get a lot of understanding behind the reclusive character of Roman, or why he's so withdrawn. Roman has a strangely endearing quality about him. Some points you think he's so weird that if you encountered him you'd flee in holy terror, and at other times, you'd embrace him and feed him cookies because he's so lonely and sad. The Girl ("Isis" played by Kristen Bell) was, in my opinion, nothing more than an irritatingly obnoxious object with a bad haircut. Her short time in the film was perfect, just so we didn't have to suffer through more of her. I definitely thought that Eva was much more of a lust-worthy subject for Roman to pursuit. Strange and Lovely. But definitely touched in the head. I was, admittedly, disappointed in the ending.

A few years ago,I saw a real masterpiece 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 quite solid.Kristen Bell and Nectar Rose bring competent works.In spite of being pretentious,a little predictable and not too original,Roman is an interesting experiment.

First off I want to say I can't believe all the people criticizing this movie for the bad picture quality and type of camera used.I think it helped to give it more realism and it may have been done for a reason.Or it could be because it's a low budget film and they had no choice.It kind of came off as an experimental or student film.The only thing I didn't like was an annoying noise during the the live sound not being edited out. The noise in the background sounded like a cat meowing throughout a lot of the movie.It was distracting and even one of my cats got up and kept looking around the room. Lucky McKee who wrote and starred in this film did a nice convincing performance of a lonely, isolated and disturbed man.There was a scene while he was being ridiculed at work and the topic of masturbation came up and I burst out in laughter.I found the scenes with Roman and his co-workers on their lunch break extremely comical and well portrayed,I mean that kind of sh*t happens! Roman has his dull daily routine and seems to lead a meaningless life.He eats nothing but pork and beans and sits by his window looking out it drinking beer. It would have been nice to understand how he loses his grip of reality.It would be nice to see the events that led up to it, but everyone involved in this project was having too much fun making it and not caring what direction it took.I like these kinds of weird,twisted films now and then.I liked Isis(the girl) played by Kristen Bell.She was so friendly, naive and sweet but Unfortunately her encounter with Roman ended tragically. And then there is Eva(played by Nectar Rose).At first I thought Eva was the sister of Isis out to avenge her sister's death because the cop that visited the building mentioned the missing girl's sister was looking for her.And also she was also trying to get inside an apartment by involving Roman going to the landlord.But then by the end of the movie I wasn't sure if she even existed at all and thought she was Roman's imaginary girlfriend.I didn't understand the ending and found parts of the movie confusing.Roman became a bigger nut case and found Eva's death amusing. I can see how some people may find this movie confusing, dull,morbid, or boring and strange.You have to like black comedies,off-beat thriller's,or appreciate different type of films.I liked some of the deleted scenes especially the alternative Roman dream sequence and think it should have been in the film.It was a very entertaining sequence and i'm not sure why it wasn't used.Whether or not the people involved with making this movie took it seriously or not,I still enjoyed it.It started off slow but kept my interest.

Roman(Lucky McKee)is a welder who lives a pretty monotonous existence while he obsesses after work over a young, beautiful woman(Kristen Bell, her name is never mentioned, but Roman calls her Isis)who walks nearby his apartment everyday. He fantasizes about her and can not stop thinking about this woman. A chance meeting between the two has possibilities of romance. She is quite a charmer, with this radiant glow and unflappability which works awkwardly opposite the aloof, slumbering quiet of Roman. What comes out is mostly compliments because he can not help staring endlessly into her face, waxing poetic in his heart for her. She stops by his apartment at his request and Roman handles her leaving badly because the idea of exiting from his sight at this point in time seems too much a burden to bear. But, in wrestling "Isis" to the ground, he accidentally strangles her. With options limited, Roman places her body on ice in his bathroom. Then, the film at times almost forgets about her. A new woman enters the picture, Eva(the truly wonderful Nectar Rose, who is a revelation in this part)..a sexual dynamo obsessed with death and conversations about it. Death is the topic that plays the heavy part over the story. It's everywhere and Roman can not seem to escape it. Roman, every Sunday, extracts a major body part(arm one Sunday, leg the next week)of the girl and spends a day with it at a lake off the beaten path in a secluded spot where the possibilities of being caught is almost nil. He spends his time with each part as if it was Isis right there with him slurping a beer like the first time they ever met on the apartment rooftop. Isis is his girl on this day, while Eva slowly becomes the other vital part of his life during the rest of the time. She's unusual, a little weird, but has an air of spontaneity..this encapsulating aura that pulls you in her orbit. Through her spirit, we see bits of humanity slowly emerge. The woebegone nature we were seeing at the opening is changing as he awakens from his emotional purgatory. But, Eva's strong feelings about death, talking about and discussing it, analyzing why people are sore afraid of it makes him very uncomfortable. Obviously, the topic of death is something Roman would truly care about avoiding, but Eva is persistent that he get with the program and not turn away from it. Being close-minded is something she can not tolerate.The keys to this film I believe are the main emotional punches to the gut of the title character, Roman. Two women impact his life..and their lives end in tragedy. One didn't wish to die and another embraced it without backing away. The film comes to a head when Eva completes her artistic project allowing Roman to feast his eyes on the results. They impact him in ways he would never imagine.