May in The Summer – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Overview

A young woman returns home to Amman with her being unsure of an impending marriage and a lot of family drama to deal with.

Review (with Spoilers) – Below

Characters & Story

May (Cherien Dabis) is all a parent could hope for. She is well educated, has a book out which is something worth bragging about, is to be married, and pretty much seems perfect. Thing is, the weight of expectations is getting to her and making her question her current life path. She isn’t alone though for both of her sisters Yasmine (Nadine Malouf) and Dalia (Alia Shawkat), and mother Nadine (Hiam Abbass), are all facing the question of what to do with their lives at the stage they are at. Something which they all try to explore over the course of the film.

Praise

The main thing worth praising for this film is its different perspective. For with the film taking place in the Middle East, featuring Middle Eastern characters, and dealing with conflicts in religions, cultures, and perhaps even expectations, it makes its tired old story a bit more refreshing.

Criticism

With that said, though, each and every one of these characters seem bland. To the point where the different perspective is like a dash of spice, for a lack of a better phrase, which makes the film mildly more interesting than it would be if this was a film focused on your usual white characters.

Overall: TV Viewing

When it comes to May in the Summer, what you get mostly is a middle eastern version of a film you have likely seen before. One in which a well to do woman is questioning whether she wants to commit to the relationship she is in; she has a bunch of dysfunctional family members of which sexuality and occupation is an issue, and then you have the eccentric parents who have enough drama for their own film.

Now, as for why this is TV Viewing, and not a Skip It film, it is solely because of the slightly fresh perspective. Otherwise, this film would just be good background noise for a nap.