May December

Directed by Todd Haynes

★★★★

Persons Shown

Julianne Moore, Natalie Portman

Description

May December, L to R: Natalie Portman as Elizabeth Berry with Julianne Moore as Gracie Atherton-Yoo. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix

Production Still Image

7200 x 3893

Credit

Courtesy of Netflix

Copyright

© May December 2022 Investors LLC

It has been four years since Todd Haynes released a narrative feature (2019’s Dark Water), almost a decade since his last great film (2015’s Carol). This time Haynes partnered with Netflix for May December, a somewhat dark comedy, but mostly a character-driven, true crime-inspired drama.

May December follows Elizabeth (Natalie Portman), a B-list actress on a mission to break out from her typecast into something real, and meaningful. Her latest role is that of Gracie, a real-life woman (within the movie and played by Julianna Moore) who gained national attention for having an affair with one of her students, Joe (Charles Melton) when she was in her late thirties and he was a pre-teen. Elizabeth immerses herself in the marriage of Gracie and Joe to find out who Gracie is to better understand the character she is tasked to play.

The film is loosely based on the Mary Kay Letourneau story of the late ‘90s and often mimics factual happenings that were documented around the time of the world-famous case.

Haynes and screenwriter Samy Burch, making her feature-length writing debut, opt for a surprising amount of camp and humor throughout May December. What could have been a serialized drama or a straightforward case study, ends up being a reflective mirror of a film, often leaving the viewer to second-guess his or her initial interpretation of the goings-on throughout the film’s runtime.

Portman and Moore deliver solid work, further establishing themselves as titans of their craft. Moore brings a flawed, sort of weepy chaos to Gracie, while Portman subtly draws on these quirks throughout the film, displaying them almost secretly at central points of the film. Melton, known primarily for his work in the CW’s Riverdale, really excels in the role of Joe. Adding to his stellar performance in this year’s underrated Poker Face, Melton offers up a heartbreakingly confused and naive portrait of a man who never got the chance to grow up. It is some truly excellent work.

May December is sometimes hard to nail down, and honestly hard to discuss without spoilers. However, the more I sit with May December, the more I love it. Keep an eye out for it this awards season, it may surprise!