MAY DECEMBER, written by Samy Burch and directed by the legendary Todd Haynes, is one of the most intoxicating movies of the year. A spectacularly shot rollercoaster ride, this riveting film is a vehicle for three incredible acting performances, and will demand conversation as you drive home from the theater. Its brilliant screenplay never lets you off the hook, constantly leading you to question your own morality and leaving you with an uncomfortable uneasiness throughout. I have seen the movie three times now and have noticed something new each time. And in case you are wondering, “May December” refers to a relationship between an older and younger person, when one person is in the “winter” or “December” of their life and one person is in the “spring” or “May” of their life.
Inspired by real-life headlines, MAY DECEMBER centers around an affair that should have never been—an adult woman developing an intimate relationship with a 13-year-old boy. Twenty years after their salacious story was national news, Gracie (Julianne Moore) and her husband Joe (Charles Melton) decide to host Hollywood actress Elizabeth (Natalie Portman) to their home. Elizabeth is preparing to play Gracie in a new film and swears she is not there to judge. But the strains in Gracie and Joe’s relationship start to to be revealed as Elizabeth begins to take her method acting to dangerous heights and Joe looks at his own missed adolescence through the eyes of his children. Is Gracie really as naive about the situation as she seems or is there more beneath the surface?
Samy Burch’s screenplay is brilliant, walking a razor-thin tightrope of tonal shifts from black comedy to gut-wrenching drama. And this is no easy fete. And even still, with two of the best actresses of all time in the lead roles, Burch finds a way to make the real focus of the film rest on the multilayered exploration of the male victim and what this scandal has done to his development into adulthood.
Todd Haynes is known for providing the perfect vehicle for actors to shine, and that still holds true with MAY DECEMBER. This film is a prime example of actresses actressing, with Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman delivering an absolute masterclass. When the two are onscreen together, with their faces millimeters apart, the tension is palpable and their chemistry lights up the screen. Haynes prioritizes long takes, with no cuts, which not only allows the scenes to breathe, but also allows the suspense to build.
In Moore and Portman’s three main confrontations, you never quite know if the women are going to kiss, have a civilized conversation, or claw each other’s eyes out, and there is something spectacular about that. As the film goes on, I love that the women begin to morph into each other, both in their mannerisms and even in the way they dress and wear their makeup; the climax of that being the graduation scene.
However, the biggest surprise of the film is Charles Melton, who is almost certainly going to be in the best supporting actor conversation this awards season. His performance is restrained, asking him to show his character’s history and internal conflict with just his eyes and in the way he carries his body. So much so, you can see the tension building in his physicality, so when things finally do explode, it makes the scene even more powerful and jarring. Melton has been onscreen for years, but his performance in this film is going to make Hollywood take notice of what an incredible actor he is, especially with his ability to go toe-to-toe with two of the best actresses of all time.
MAY DECEMBER is a thought-provoking, multilayered exploration of voyeuristic tabloid/true-crime culture and a complex character study of a man who had his childhood taken away too soon. Of course, this film is a platform for three of the best performances of the year, but even more than that is a reflection on how easy our attention can go more to the salacious elements of a story than the human side of it. Don’t be surprised when you are still thinking about this film weeks after you saw it; I know I am.
My Review: A