Why I couldn't enjoy this mess of a film

I just watched this film, and ADORED it, but I do think the plot was a bit chaotic and clumsy at times.

I adored Katherine Isabelle in the lead role, because she seems like a strong enough woman not to play it simply innocent. In fact, the parts of the movie I felt the most stretched were when she breaks-- though I do think that they were hard to watch without feeling sympathy for her.

I thought of her character more of a tragic hero than anything-- at first, she is understandably judgmental of the modification sub-culture, understandable especially considering the extremes with which she enters it, but I agree with the comment that the body mod characters were actually highly sympathetic, even at the most dark (the devilish sisters were bizarre, extreme, and frankly scary, but ultimately, the worst they did was nibble on a tongue/lip-- abrasive, yes, but hardly demonic).

I did find her medical professors a bit of a stretch logically-- I don't think it a stretch that these type of people exist, but that they'd be so open about it with students who could easily destroy their careers seemed forced. Had they not been so directly tied to her, perhaps... and perhaps I'm being naive here to think that medical teachers couldn't be so vile without severe repercussions. However, I do think PEOPLE in general do exist that are as downright vile as those reptiles, so this minor issue hardly took me out of the experience, and didn't stop me from feeling relieved when they got their come-uppance.

I also do agree with it not being only a rape-revenge flick. I think American Mary is a bit more sophisticated than that; it's also a bit of a celebration of the people we might otherwise demonize (having a lot of friends covered in tattoos and a few who are into the body-mod subculture, I adore how they portrayed that culture, as a group of people who are essentially just unique and perhaps a bit "broken" but still very human).

Again, I don't think the film perfect-- the plot seems to wander aimlessly at times while it attempts to find its next push forward. However, there are moments that just make it ultimately charming. One of my favorite is in the relationship between Mary and the club owner. They were both two people who clumsily dealt with their own power, both people who stumbled and broke their own morality but who still felt very human. I actually thought the final scene somewhat sad, partly because it was obvious what was about to happen (subtlety was not the script's strength); yes, the guy was a sleaze, yes he was hardly the most upstanding of people, but he just felt very human in a flawed way-- as did Mary.

I'm a sap and I'll admit it... ****** SPOILER ALERT **** I wanted her to take that drive to LA!

All in all, was it a clumsy film? A bit, yes. The reptile teachers were a bit far fetched (or I'm a bit naive), the middle struggles a bit to be interesting and guided, and the ending was ... well... completely predictable, BUT I do think it was one of the more interesting explorations of moral ambiguity I've seen in awhile, and a film with a strong identity of its own.

I think in all honesty I found that I liked the film perhaps more than the technical aspects should have allowed. I think I do have to admit that I've had a crush on Katherine Isabelle for years and think she is absolutely fetching, and I think any warm-blooded man would probably feel the same way the club owner felt (both frightened by, and attracted to, her dangerous beauty); I do like what she did with the character, though-- she's sexy, absolutely scorching, but still feels very much like a girl you would just want to have a coffee with, though that may just be, again, my own personal reaction to her. And the film clumsily ignores some of the more blatant dark immoral actions of its leads, like Mary's murder of an innocent security guard, or the (murder?) the club owner commits, or at the very least his interrogation techniques. But considering the worlds both of them exist in, I didn't find that part all too surprising.

I dunno... I can understand why someone would hate the film-- it is clumsy at parts, like I said. But ultimately, there's just a charm I can't really describe. Perhaps it's just hard not to cheer for such an unapologetically strong female character, even if she is an anti-hero (who flirts with being a villain from time to time). I like how even the toughest of the characters around her don't feel the need to protect her all the time, but look up to her strength, and want to encourage her to grow and be as strong as she can be.

I like that... I dunno, call me crazy, but I like the idea of a woman being so powerful she's dangerous.

1) Mary is conversing with Nana on the phone WAY before she meets any of the people she begins to work for & if you actually LISTEN to their conversations it is plain that Nana is indeed Mary's Grandmother. Mary even speaks to Nana in her own dialect at one point in the film.

2) Mary wears a nice, fashionable gown to the networking party even comparable to those seen on red carpet events such as the Oscars, the Golden Globes, Charity events, etc. The only "skin showing" is her arms & some decolletage, (the neckline of a dress cut low in the front or back and often across the shoulders.) SO using your logic, any woman wearing this type of dress, going to any function where they do not already know EVERYONE there, (which would be MANY woman, often,) deserves to be raped.

By your logic any woman on a beach wearing a bikini surrounded by strangers deserves to be raped.

Also, Mary gets raped by the person she KNOWS & respects the MOST, so again, your idea of "knowing everyone at the party to be safe" does not even save her!

I invite you re-examine your thinking on this topic.

Why is everyone getting the idea that "Nana" was anybody other than her grandmother? The first scene in the movie she is talking to her on the phone, and also at times throughout the movie.

ahh this post. omg lol.