9:26 p.m. - 2018-05-02
MIMIC 3: "Why would I want pictures of myself?"
. . . is Carmen's response to Marvin's offer to give her some snapshots he's made of her during his furtive observation of his neighbors. That remark makes her almost instantly likable: a smart, pretty, independent young woman who not only doesn't want photos of herself, but can't imagine why she ever would.

Marvin clearly has a crush on Carmen, one that developed solely on the basis of long distance and undetected observation, and is, in Carmen's words, a little "pervy." But she doesn't seem bothered by it, takes it in stride, and segues to the observation that he has a "good eye." Marvin's one way fascination with the girl subtly echoes a theme in an earlier movie in the "Mimic" trilogy, in which biology teacher Remi Panos (Alix Koromzay) has such a plethora of stalkers that it almost becomes a running gag.

Carmen begins to return Marvin's affection in a low key, understated way: giving up smoking, perfume, and other habits that might provoke an asthma attack in the stay at home Strickler's survivor. Exactly what it is that she finds attractive in the awkward loner is something of a puzzle, but she eagerly involves herself in the neighborhood mystery he seems to have discovered, and by the end of the film there seems to be an honest connection between them.

Carmen is introduced to Marvin by his sister Rosy: an attractive, moody girl whose behavior seems due in part to a drug addiction. She shows an inappropriate glee in thinking she might have found a human corpse, admitting that he was "messed up" at the time; has alternating moods of extreme happiness and antsy, nervous irritability; and has what might be a romantic relationship with Desmond, a local dealer. Exactly what drug or drugs Rosy uses is something of a puzzle. There are a couple of scenes in which her bare arms are clearly visible without any evidence of needle tracks. In one scene Desmond shows her a plastic bag of . . . something and asks her if she has a match. Marijuana would seem to be an obvious choice, but if Rosy smokes pot, why doesn't Marvin have a respiratory reaction to her as he did to lingering tobacco smoke on Carmen's clothing when they first met? We are in the era of the opioid epidemic, which would be more consistent with Rosy's occasional withdrawal-like symptoms, but once again we are left with the plant-like substance in the plastic baggie.

Marvin feels responsible for Rosy, and perhaps a little guilty about her. We learn that he is in the habit of doing her homework for her. It is not uncommon in families with a sick child to have the other children get less attention and to feel less valued by their parents. Mrs Montrose, a widow and a less than perceptive person, would be hard pressed to work a job, care for Marvin, and give Rosy the attention she deserves. Is it possible that the daughter's apparent drug use is related to her perception that she is a second class citizen in her own family? Marvin's photos of the Pasture Family, in which one son, though obviously the younger of two siblings is labeled "Number One Son," show another one-parent family in which one child gets preferential treatment over the other. When Number One Son disappears, the father can be seen behaving in an abusive manner to Number Two Son, who is later seen always posting handbills about his missing brother. The Pasture family seems to mirror the Montrose family: Marvin is burdened with the unwanted, suffocating attention of his doting mother, while Rosy is left to her own devices (and vices).

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