Mayday (2021)
Directed by Karen Cinorre
Ana is transported to a dreamlike and dangerous land where she joins an army of girls engaged in a never-ending war. Even though she finds strength in this exhilarating world, she realizes that she's not the killer they want her to be, and time is running out for her to get home.
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4 films that influenced Mayday
What critics say influenced Mayday
Narratively and thematically similar to Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch , but without the male gaze (or the teeny-tiny outfits) that Sucker Punch used as stylish bombast, Mayday also focuses on a young woman struggling against abuse and objectification.
It sometimes resembles Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch without the gonzo action, male gaze sexualization, and an upbeat soundtrack.
But unlike something like Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch , which Mayday feels like an explicit rebuke of, there's no fetishization of girls play-acting tough guy roles -- their past wounds don't become level-up Barbie-costumes that wrap their sexual assaults in pleather bustier pseudo-feminist bullshit.
Karen Cinorre’s fantastical, feminist war film Mayday is what Sucker Punch might’ve been if Zack Snyder had no budget to work, a clearer perspective, and a female screenwriter.
Watching “Mayday,” I kept thinking that this is what Zack Snyder’s “Sucker Punch” might have been if directed by an imaginative woman and not a slavering guy with a “Sailor Moon” fixation.
He also starred in other films like “Get Shorty,” “In The Loop'' and “All The King's Men.”
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
Directed by Andrew Adamson
Visuals
It seems reminiscent of the wardrobe in Narnia as Ana opens the door to an oven, revealing a glowing yellow light that draws her ever closer.
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.
Echoing the dreamy undertones of Picnic at Hanging Rock and The Virgin Suicides, Mayday regales with stunning cinematography (it is shot by Lady Bird director of photography Sam Levy), as well as costumes and production design that create a distinct and visceral world.
Levy, who is famous for his contributions to Noah Baumbach films and most recently Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut Lady Bird , brings an immersive beauty to the film that feels alluring in how brightly lit is and the extensive use of extreme wide shots but it is overly done to the point that there is a suspicious, off-kilter feel behind it that lends a sense of unease for its characters.
Chief among them, aside from the terrific supporting cast, is cinematographer Sam Levy (“Lady Bird,” “Frances Ha,” also a producer here) and composer Colin Stetson (“Hereditary,” “The Rover”), both of whom help give the movie its softly ethereal and melancholy qualities.