Synopsis
No one said becoming a medical school would be cheap. How would you pay the bills? Becoming a server? Bartender? Or, perform illegal surgeries for the right price? Mary Mason will do whatever it takes to keep afloat. Will she end up sawing up more than she can sew?
Thoughts
What's the obvious line of work for a girl hard up for cash? Serving and dancing at a strip club, of course. No, that's stereotypical, but there you go. Oh, and somehow your boss knows you're a good surgeon? Here's the money you just so happen to need. Go ahead and fix this brutalized man up and it's yours. My point: PREDICTABLE!
Don't get me wrong, American Mary is one of the better movies I've seen in a while. Although, I do have a few issues with the film, but overall it was pretty damn entertaining. Nothing that hasn't been done before, but worth the watch.
The issues I had while watching American Mary may only be a few, but they still linger and irritate me. They don't exactly ruin the film, though I keep wanting to know exactly why it was written this way. Let's put the issues in the form of questions and see if we can answer them, shall we?
Why does Mary at one point seem adjusted to her new persona, yet at other times come off as recluse and somewhat frightened of her own being?
Either she grows into her underground profession or she doesn't. If you're going for a schizophrenia angle, try and make some attempt and making that known. Why is it that some films insist the viewer should just assume something is the case? No, we don't need everything laid out for us, but we aren't psychic either. There are times when you should elaborate or the film is just going to seem like it's missing something.
And what the hell is with that ending?
I've seen many films that end sort of abruptly and try to send us off with a message or metaphor, but this film didn't need it. By abrupt, I mean there isn't really any closure for Mary as a character. We're just kind of left with this unsatisfied feeling. After all is said an done, that is what we are left with? Really? Maybe after the several more times I watch it, I will come to understand just what the Soska sisters meant by ending in such a way. Maybe they were trying to reignite realism in film? Doubtful.
American Mary is a decent film even with the faults that I discussed. You'll spend the entire time actually interested in the story and intrigued by the characters. It is predictable, but what horror film isn't these days?
IMDB: 6.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 5.5/10
WeFLM: 6/10
Come for the striptease. Stay for the surgery.
-kp
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