Our ‘Mayday’ review was first published after the film’s premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.
Sisterhood reigns supreme in writer/director Karen Cinorre’s action film, Mayday. Take a trip to this women-dominated fantasyland, and you’ll find that pent-up rage from years of gender-based injustice is personified as WW2-era ladies as cold-blooded killers. Best described as a “feminist war film,” Mayday‘s callousness stops just short of being a full-out “anti-men” to be a thought-provoking, female-empowering fantasy film.
For Ana (Grace Van Patten), a caterer at a small venue in town, an approaching storm acts as a daunting premonition of changes to come. Although she’s (unfortunately) used to being taken advantage of by her sleazy male superiors, it’s clear that she still values the friendships with the rest of her co-workers, men and women alike. On this particular stormy day, however, Ana’s natural submissiveness is about to come face to face with a domineering feminist future, in which supernatural events occur that transport Ana into an alternate reality where women are in charge.
It’s no coincidence that Ana is wearing a blue dress and white apron combo (much like Alice falling into Wonderland), awakening on an unfamiliar coastline. Dazed and confused, she is taken in by Marsha (Mia Goth), who acts as the white rabbit to Ana’s Alice. Her memory wiped clean, Marsha provides context as to where she is: it seems that Ana’s fallen into a fever dream where the patriarchy doesn’t exist. Marsha introduces Ana to two more women, Gert (Soko) and Bea (Havana Rose Liu), a band of women and sorority of soldiers whose mission is to lure and kill every man who views them as a damsel in distress… AKA, all men.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a “good” guy or a “bad” guy in Mayday–so long as you’re a guy, you’re a target. It’s a divisive premise that may ruffle a few feathers, but much like its badass characters, Mayday isn’t interested in playing it safe. Director Karen Cinorre’s bold vision is brought to life in beautiful fashion by cinematographer Sam Levy who, after working on films like Lady Bird and Frances Ha, knows a thing or two about creating a cinematic environment for strong women to thrive. Adding to the film’s edginess is experimental composer Colin Stetson (Hereditary), who opens the floodgates of chaos with his chilling polyphonic sax.
With Mayday, Cinorre makes a strong statement on the roles that men and women play in society, which is further strengthened by its excellent cast. Grace Van Patten and Mia Goth give hard-hitting performances, with both an emotional and physical range on full display. And can we just say, that any film that Juliette Lewis is in, is already that much better. Mayday might not be for everyone (even I cringed at some of the one-liners that came off as a little, what I’d call “emo”), but the bigger question is well worth asking: Would the world be better with women in charge?
Distributed by Magnolia Pictures. In theaters and On Demand this Friday, October 1, 2021.
