Actor Kyle Gallner has been having a great twelve months. The star has been acting since his teen years having appeared in TV shows Veronica Mars and Smallville, as well as in films including Jennifer’s Body and the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street. He has been acting consistently since, but it’s within that last year that he has really amassed attention. It started last year with the release of the phenomenal Dinner in America and has continued in 2022 with an appearance in Scream and a starring role in Smile. At the same time as making these two horror smashes, Gallner has been hard at work on the much smaller and intimate Mother May I?
Also starring Holland Roden of MTV series Teen Wolf fame, Mother May I? is a strange analysis of relationships and maternal ties. Emmett (Gallner) and his girlfriend Anya (Roden) travel to the house of Emmett’s recently deceased mother. The remote country home is Emmett’s inheritance and the pair plan on selling it to help with their dream of starting a family. As they arrive at the building there’s an awkwardness in the air. This unease is in part due to the fact that Emmett hasn’t seen his mother since he was a child. Shortly after arrival, events take a strange turn when Anya suddenly begins acting like his late mother. Is she playing a warped game with him, or is there a more sinister reason for her change.
Mother May I? is written and directed by Laurence Vannicelli who was one of the writers on quirky sex horror comedy, Porno. His background in humour comes expertly into play in Mother May I?. Though never played for laughs, there’s a wry amusement to the events that unfold. It’s that type of funny that stems from being unsettled. There’s an absurdity to events and it’s played beautifully by Roden and Gallner. Upon their introduction, Anya and Emmett seem like a well-set unit. There’s clear love for one another and they still have time for fun. It doesn’t take long for some cracks to appear however. It begins with the beeping of Emmett’s phone. It is his fertility tracker. The pair are committed to having a child, though Anya has some doubts. She believes Emmett needs to face his maternal trauma before becoming a parent himself. Emmett does not.
Anya’s mum is revealed to be a psychoanalyst and Anya has grown up learning the tricks of the trade. Determined to help Emmett face the ghosts of the past, Anya is always trying new approaches. A favourite technique of hers is called chair reversal. Mother May I? is framed around several rounds of the game. A couples therapy tool, it requires Anya and Emmett to sit across from one another at the table. They then take it in turns to either interrogate themselves or respond to questions how they think their partner would respond. The technique is meant to help communication, but for these two it just compounds their issues. As the story progresses, this game is revisited, becoming more and more intense. They quickly become some of the best moments of the film, made special by the two acting talents. Not only have they had to learn their characters, but also how their characters would impersonate each other.
With only Anya and Emmett on screen for almost the entirety of the film, Mother May I? gives Roden and Gallner’s acting skills a full workout. Of the pair, Roden has the heavier task as she has to portray two different characters within her. Her work is nothing short of exceptional as she traverses the two battling psyches. The audience doesn’t get to spend long with Anya before her behaviour alters, and yet already the viewer can tell that she has changed. Even in those fleeting moments of interaction, Roden sets up Anya enough that it’s noticeable when she switches performance. As Tracey, Roden is pulled back, straight, neat and tidy. The easiest tell is her hair once loose is suddenly clamped back in a restrictive high bun. Roden’s posture morphs, her facial expressions become more prominent and her voice is clipped and authoritative.
Whilst Roden has to juggle two women in one body, Gallner’s Emmett is thrown into emotional turmoil. Emmett has clearly never dealt with his mother’s abandonment and immediately resents being back in the house from his youth. As Anya begins to act differently, Emmett feels attacked and tormented by his lover. He can’t understand why she would be so cruel. As time progresses and he begins to form connections with his ‘mother’ finally after all these years, his perspective changes. He goes from traumatised and desperate for Anya to be normal, to bereft and despondent when his wish appears to come true. The emotions and themes at play in Mother May I? are fascinating and would have kept Sigmund Freud fed for weeks.
Although positioned primarily as a secluded two-hander, there are actually three in the mix: Emmett, girlfriend Anya and mother Tracey. It’s a weird and wonderful threesome that leads to some uncomfortable moments. The complexities of the situation are handled superbly by Roden and Gallner, creating performances that sell the events as genuine. Coming in the wake of Smile Gallner’s nose for an intriguing exploration of mental health and all its intricacies continue to shine. Mother May I? explores childhood trauma and repression in a unique and engaging way. Told via two exceptionally thoughtful and complicated performances this is the kind of movie that you can easily disappear into for an hour or two.
Mother May I?
Summary
Mother May I? explores the dynamics of mother and child, as well as partner and partner, in Laurence Vannicelli’s secluded and sensitive exploration of trauma and repression. Expertly performed by Holland Roden and Kyle Gallner, Mother May I is a Freudian nightmare made real and is curiously compelling.
Mother May I was reviewed at Brooklyn Horror Film Festival. It screens in the UK at Soho Horror Festival this November.
