May December (2023) User Reviews

Unsettling Character Study (Literally)

[evanston_dad · 8/10 · 21 December 2023]

"May December" finds Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore in an unsettling character study (literally) about an actress researching a role in a movie where she will play a 36 year old woman who had an affair with a 12 year old boy and then ended up marrying him.

This is being billed as a dark comedy, and I've seen more than one person talking about how funny it is. It's not funny in the conventional sense, but I suppose there is a certain (extremely dark) joke played on the world of actors and how they go about preparing for roles. Portman's actress character is ostensibly doing so much research because she wants to truly understand Moore's sex offender and show a sympathetic side. But at the end of the movie, Portman -- and us, the film's audience -- are no closer to really understanding Moore than we were at the beginning. So what was Portman doing, really, with all of that "research?" Is it really important to her understanding of this woman and her upcoming performance that she knows how Moore applies her makeup? I imagine this movie might seem funnier to people in the movie industry than to the casual movie goer.

What makes "May December" so unsettling is that at the center of all this is the boy, now a grown man, but who in many ways is still stuck at twelve. Are movies about subjects like this really trying to get at "truth" as they claim, or are they exploiting other people's pain? And if the latter, what role do we as an audience play in being complicit in that exploitation? This seems to me to the be crux of what director Todd Haynes is exploring in this film, and it doesn't come to a conclusion about it. It asks the question and leaves us to ponder it.

The trio of Moore, Portman, and Charles Melton as Moore's husband are giving great performances in this. Moore's is especially a fascinating creation. What if there isn't a lot of depth to this woman that Portman is trying so hard to unravel? What if she's actually just a crappy person? Where does that leave Portman and her desire to tell the other side of the story. Moore walks a knife edge with her character, and we're never completely sure whether she's the villain or the victim. Portman gets an Oscar moment of her own, a monologue delivered directly to the screen. Is she an actress truly committed to her craft, or is she just a narcissist using other people's pain and confusion for her own gain? Are all actors narcissists to a certain extent? And Melton has a few moments of heartbreaking vulnerability where the lost little boy peeks out from the facade of the man.

A juicy film that gave my wife and I a lot to chew on after we watched it.

Grade: A.

A lot of problems. Not what I was hoping for.

[Avwillfan89 · 6/10 · 2 December 2023]

Maybe I had too many high expectations for this film. But the script is all over the place and many of its plot points raised more questions than answers.

First of all, why would it only be the lead actress Elizabeth (Natalie Portman) who is spending time with the family her film is focused on? Surely that's for the director and the screenwriter to unpack? I understand she wanted to get into her character and meet the woman she would be playing. But then she does something completely innappropriate, and there are no consequences for it.

With Gracie, in the end, there really isn't much more to unpack than what we already know from the beginning. She is a sexual predator and a child rapist who ended up marrying her victim and had kids with him. That's it.

Joe, on the other hand, is probably the most interesting part of the film. His character goes through a lot and is the most conflicted out of all of them. He slowly realises that the decision to stay with his abuser and raise a family was done out of naivety, youth and possibly grooming. Now that he, as well as all of his children, have grown up, he starts to mature and question his life.

So perhaps the film should have been only from his point of view and not Elizabeth's, as she was very undeveloped and vapid.

In the end, not that all impressed.

The Aftermath of a Crime(s)

[zack_gideon · 8/10 · 2 December 2023]

This movie is based on subtext and doesn't have an overt narrative that progresses like most films.

This movie is about the about one of the worst crimes that exists - CSA (look it up). If you understand it's generational and also very difficult to comprehend this movie will hit you HARD.

That being said, this is a very well done movie about adults who are really just children. They never healed from their traumas and what ensues is a vision of how life is when you ignore that stuff.

I personally have dealt this this crap, and ignoring it is the easy way out...but leads to a unlived life. You have to put the bright lights on it which is what Natalie Portman's character does.

The movie is for people that love film as art - not narrative. It is very well done. All the acting is based on nuanced subtext. The score and the cinematography are also very well done (I love slow zooms...sue me).

Overall it's a great film if you can just absorb the artform of a well paced uncovering of the aftermath of a crime and what happens when you steal innocence. It's a truly remarkable movie that will impact people that understand this dynamic in life. 8/10.

buried emotions bubble up

[ferguson-6 · 7/10 · 16 November 2023]

Greetings again from the darkness. Contentedly, most us live our lives in a manner that would never be worthy of tabloid headlines. Not so for Gracie in this psychologically complex new film from expert director Todd Haynes (FAR FROM HEAVEN, 2002) and writers Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik. Early on, Haynes shows us those tabloids featuring Gracie's scandal following her seduction of 7th grader Joe in the stock room of the local pet store. She was 36 years old, and he was 13. Soon after, Gracie went to prison, where she bore their first child.

The story picks up 24 years later as Gracie and Joe are married, and their second and third children, twins Mary (Elizabeth Yu) and Charlie (Gabriel Chung), are graduating high school and preparing to ship off to college. In other words, they are all living a fairly normal life. However, as a harsh reminder that their lives are not actually normal, Elizabeth (Oscar winner Natalie Portman) arrives at their Savannah home to research her role as Gracie in an upcoming indie film about the scandal.

Oscar winner Julianne Moore plays Gracie, in her fourth collaboration with director Haynes. Charles Melton (THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR, 2019) plays Joe, who is now the same age as Elizabeth, as well as the kids from Gracie's first marriage. Elizabeth is polite and apologetic as she initially treads carefully in asking probing questions of the family and their friends. Her approach generates some awkward moments, and although Gracie seems to hold firmly to her did-nothing-wrong stance, it's Joe who begins to question things ... mimicking the slow development of the Monarch butterflies he breeds.

Perhaps the film's best sequence occurs when actress Elizabeth shows up for a Q&A with Mary and Charlie's class. When the question gets a bit risqué, Elizabeth's answer borders on inappropriate, and is an honest depiction of the fine line between acting and reality. Back at the house, Elizabeth's questions raise previously unspoken doubts, as well as the ongoing impact of the scandal ... not the least of which are periodic postal deliveries of excrement denoting some of the public's view of a female predator.

The similarities to the true-life story of Mary Kay Letourneau are inescapable, though a twist here is that Gracie and Joe's recollection of how things started are not necessarily in sync. Savannah is always a character unto itself, and the accompanying music is eerily spot on ... including the repurposing of Michel Legrand's score from THE GO-BETWEEN (1971). The three lead actors (Ms. Portman, Ms. Moore, Mr. Melton) are terrific, and director Haynes has delivered yet another complex movie that gives the appearance of simplicity due to how beautifully it's done.

Opens in select theaters on November 17, 2023 and streams on Netflix beginning December 1, 2023.

a clever exercise in style, sustained by three top-notch performances

[harry_tk_yung · 23 December 2023]

Let me start with a brief outline of the plot which is "loosely" based on actual events. To avoid confusion, I'll make no reference to the actual events. The "facts" in my outline reflects what is presented in the movie.

Some 20 years ago, 36-year-old married woman Gracie (Julianne Moore) had sex with a 13-year-old boy Joe (Charles Melton), got convicted for child rape and, in prison, gave birth to a girl fathered by Joe. After serving her term, she married Joe, and they had a pair of twins. The family of five carries on, at present, as a perfectly normal, happy middle-class family, living in a large waterfront house in Savannah.

While the incident, needless to say, was met with considerable public indignation, it was after all two decades ago. To Gracie, it is as if it had never happened. The only thing slightly out of the ordinary about her marriage, to Gracie, is the age and ethnic differences (Joe is half-Korean, in fact both the character and the actor), neither of which should cause even a raise in eyebrows.

The story really starts when someone decides to make a movie out of Gracie's story. Elizabeth (Natalie Portman) who has been cast to portray Gracie, visits them in the aforementioned idyllic Savannah neighborhood.

While nothing seems to be out of the ordinary, there are a couple of suggestive hints in the opening scenes. The house is bubbling with activities, barbecuing and swimming outside (with screaming kids) and kitchen preparations inside. Gracie goes to the fridge, opens it. For a split second, the expression on her face brings flashes of a scene in Stephen King's "It", when somebody opens the fridge and sees Stanley Uris's severed head inside. What Gracie mumbles, however, is not quite as exciting "There aren't enough hot dogs". But why such exaggeration? I think that is to serve notice that while "May December" is billed as comedy (indeed included in that category in the Golden Globe best picture nomination), don't expect an easy ride.

After Elizabeth's arrival and getting acquainted with the family, there is nothing unusual about an actor's effort in understanding the protagonist she is going to portray. Yet, consider this first exchange at the door of the house where the two women first meet. Elizabeth says "oh, I though you would be taller". Nothing unusual in that. Gracie replies "We are basically the same size". Nothing unusual. Without missing a beat comes Elizabeth's rejoinder "We are basically the same". Suggestive.

As characters interact, morsels of their personality and experiences, when revealed, serve to mystify, rather than clarify. When the two women chat casually while working on some floral arrangements, Gracie intimates that she does not dwell on the past. Elizabeth acknowledges that she is exactly the opposite.

There is no convoluted plot. Not even a plot in the conventional sense, you may say. Part of the movie runs like Elizabeth's investigation procedurals, setting up meetings and talking to various people, starting with Gracie's ex-husband, followed by an assortment of individuals who might be able to help her understand the woman she will be portraying. Another part of the movie dwells on the relationship between Gracie and Joe which, after 20 years, might have hit a tricky point when the empty-nester scenario is just around the corner.

The persistently presence of piano background music, often intense, sometimes dramatic, but never soothing, is sufficient to convey the director's message to the audience. Is everything the way it seems, or are there intriguing layers if you dig below the surface? There are innuendos aplenty, but no definite answers.

Gracie's history would obviously invite suspicions of whether she is the uncomplicated, simple, contented woman now, approaching her sixties. In one scene, Joe finds her breaking down in tears. The reason turns out to be just that a much-valued order for her catering service is cancelled. Towards the end, when husband and wife are having their domestic discussions, Gracie challenges Joe on who really started "the incident". She went to jail because he was a minor (only 13). But "who was in charge?" Gracie challenged. In no uncertain terms is her conviction (no pun intended) that he seduced her. Does the movie give an answer? Sorry, no.

What about Elizabeth? One may see her only as surrogate for the audience, trying to find "something true, something honest" about this scandal that happened 20 years ago. But it is quite logical, and simpler, to see her as a perfectionist of an actor, trying to understand her subject as best she can before she goes before the camera. She wants to "become Gracie", but what's wrong with that? I am not sure if this can be called "method acting" but it will be something of the sort, anyway. The one time we get tantalizingly close to seeing a "revelation" of Elizabeth is when she is invited to speak to local drama students. The first salvo from a smart-Alex student is "have you played sex scenes?" But, interesting as the talk is, it does not show anything about Elizabeth you don't expect from a profession screen (and occasionally stage) actor.

Joe, consistently minimalistic throughout the movie, is unfortunately not really an enigma either. This is a typical kidult who still hasn't grown up, not under the thumb of parents as in normal cases, but of a wife 23 years older. The poignancy brought out by Melton's superb acting is a highlight in this movie. Watch for the scene with Joe smoking pot with his son on roof top. When he breaks down in tears, it is more than obvious that despite age and appearance, who is really the adult and who is the kid.

"May December" is a clever exercise in style, sustained by three top-notch performances.

Boring and slow.

[movieliker1 · 6/10 · 6 December 2023]

I thought it was boring and slow. They kept playing dramatic music like something horrible and shocking was going to happen. But nothing ever did.

I understand it's supposed to be about the Mary Kay Letourneau situation. Indicating it was an unhealthy relationship. And how older women can take unfair advantage of younger men.

I thought technically it was done well. The acting was good. I like Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore. And Charles Melton got a lot of raves on his performance.

But it seemed like this movie never went anywhere. I kept waiting for something to happen. But nothing ever did.

I think viewers will enjoy this movie more, if they know --- going in --- it's supposed to represent the Mary Kay Letourneau situation. Otherwise like me, they may be left holding out their hands as if to ask, "What was that supposed to be?"

And the Oscar goes to.....Charles Melton

[jaysonpajaronvistal · 8/10 · 15 December 2023]

"May-December" (2023) is the kind of movie that sticks with you. It's the film you find yourself thinking about not just in the days after you've seen it, but when you're lost in thought, all by yourself. It has a way of getting under your skin with its unsettling scenes that can catch you off guard.

Even with its dramatic moments that can feel a bit showy, the film bravely addresses a dark and serious issue that really bites into your sense of ease. It's a gutsy contrast to the film's lighter, sometimes playful moments, but it's a contrast that ends up working really well. The storyline cuts close to the bone, touching on painful childhood issues and awakening emotions and memories that many of us might not have even realized we were suppressing.

In terms of performances, it's Charles Melton who unexpectedly steals the show, bringing a depth to his role in a way that's just mesmerizing. Sure, Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore are incredible, but Melton is the one who truly commands your attention. Take the scene where he just listens to Portman's character - the silent story his face tells is powerful.

Melton's acting is heartfelt and sincere; it's the kind of performance that not only draws you in but also touches you deeply. I've cried during many movies, but this one hit me harder. Seeing Melton portray a man with the naive heart of a child, caught in a complicated, uneven love, moved me to tears of genuine sympathy.

Director Todd Haynes navigates through the film's challenging themes with skill, shining a harsh light on the twisted ways of predators with unsettling realism. He approaches a subject that could easily cause a stir, as it pulls from headlines we've all seen, yet he manages to create a film that's as intellectually stimulating as it is captivating, guiding the audience through an emotional journey with the expertise of a master.

What really stays with me, though, is how the film knows when to call it quits. "May-December" has moments where it feels like it's starting to drag, and I was worried it might lose its way. But then it pulls off something remarkable - it ends right when it should. The film wraps up without any unnecessary fuss, leaving a quiet impact that echoes with you. In a world where movies often overstay their welcome, this one feels refreshingly confident and decisively smart.

What's the Point?

[jackiestanfield-91961 · 6/10 · 30 December 2023]

I really enjoyed the movie, but kept waiting for the thing that they keep alluding to, to happen. In the end, nothing changes. It feels like they ran out of time or something. It feels like it almost started to be something, but then just ended. Melton was great as Yoo and is by far the most interesting character. Also, it feels like Natalie Portman is doing an imitation of herself. Has she always spoken like that?

Julianne Moore is very good at playing this complex character, but there are so many things that are mentioned, but never addressed: Elizabeth's relationship with the director, Georgie's claim, Gracie and Joe's relationship afterward. Good performances, but lacks story resolution. Bummed out that they didn't finish the movie.

Slow moving, interesting psychological drama

[jpismyname · 9/10 · 2 December 2023]

After hearing a lot of good reviews about it, particularly about Riverdale star Charles Melton's stellar performance, May December became my most anticipated movie of this year. Thanks to Netflix winning its rights to release it, I can now watch it before the year ends.

In May December, Moore plays Gracie, a mother with an infamous past. In the 1990s, Gracie got pregnant by a seventh grader named Joe, portrayed by Melton. As if that wasn't enough, she married him later on and they had two more children. Natalie Portman is Elizabeth, an actress who, twenty years later, is set to act the part of Gracie in an indie film based on her controversial life. Before the shooting of her film, Elizabeth visits Gracie's home to interview them and prepare for her role.

May December is my first Todd Haynes film. It is a slow-moving character study of three complicated characters. Depending on the viewer, it can be tedious or it can be interesting. For me, it's the latter. The movie starts with showing the seemingly picture-perfect family of Gracie and her attractive husband. It is through Elizabeth's prying eyes and investigation that we gradually begin to learn more about the couple as the story progresses. It is hard to understand why Gracie acts the way she do, and it is exactly the reason why Elizabeth chose to play her. It is also interesting to see how Gracie treats her children, but I wouldn't delve deeper into that. Her husband Joe, meanwhile, is still a kid trapped in an adult's body. His childlike quality is very apparent early on in the film as we observe his body language and reactions. He is a caterpillar who never learned how to fly. The highlight of the movie is Joe's breakdown. Melton is this year's shocker. A butterfly is shown in the film a lot, an obvious metaphor to his slow transformation and realization as the film moves forward. It is sad to watch.

Other things that I love about May December are its skillful camera works that excellently capture the characters' emotions, and a campy score that elevates the tension that is in the story.

I highly recommend this movie.

Alright, but it had so much more potential!

[GhostlyAghast · 6/10 · 29 January 2024]

I think this was an interesting film that turned out okay but could have been great. That said, it's definitely still worth a watch! More in-depth review below:

In my opinion, something as complex as this would most likely best be explored through something like a small mini-series.

• I spent the whole movie being confused about the children (I guess the graduating teen boy and girl were "the twins" and they had an older daughter), those three being Joe and Gracie's, as well as Gracie's children from her past marriage. A mini-series could give us a more in-depth look at the family unit, where they were in this journey and how they were feeling.

• I really didn't care for Portman's character being an actress preparing for a role. That's just a personal one for me, but I also think that story-wise, something like a journalist or author writing a piece/book about their "relationship" in its early days while interviewing them in their present day marriage would lend itself better to presenting a fully formed story. Portman's character seemed a little suspect, so maybe that was a significant point the writers and director wanted to portray, which could be justification for this style, and I'm not even fully against it. I just think the story of this family is already messy, dark and complex as is. It has my attention and I care more about learning about them than I do another outside character. Let the journalist be more of a framing device than another deep character to explore.

• I would have loved things like flashbacks, old news stories on VHS being replayed, maybe old diary entries.

• I desperately wanted to learn more about Joe. I would have liked a really hashed out conversation or argument between him and Gracie where more was revealed (tastefully). While we did see Joe sort of possibly coming to some really horrific, traumatizing realizations that could lead to him seeking help and leaving Gracie, I think seeing a bit more of a light at the end of the tunnel for Joe and his kids in some final shots would have been satisfying and cathartic. Maybe we'd see Joe (or Joe *and* his kids together) sitting in a therapists office, about to tell his/their story to someone who can give him/them guidance and help. Maybe we see him wave his kids off to college and then board a plane alone to Mexico to go see the butterflies; maybe he's even texting that woman who also raises and releases butterflies, and we see that he's going to meet her there.

There was just so much more I wanted to know.

There is certainly a fine line between just the right amount and type of information, and overly-expository, exhausting scenes.

I can really appreciate that this was a film centered around a male victim of grooming and SA. Boys and men also face these problems in society, but due to the patriarchy and toxic masculinity, they often don't feel valid and/or safe sharing or reporting experiences like sexual harassment, assault, rape and/or grooming.

All genders and sexualities can face these horrors, and they deserve to have their voices heard.

As for the acting, of course it was great! But an absolute shout out to Charles Melton for truly bringing this deep character to life.

Disappointing

[brentsbulletinboard · 5/10 · 24 November 2023]

In moviemaking, there's subtlety, and then there's subtlety carried too far. In the case of director Todd Haynes's latest, the filmmaker unfortunately indulges himself far too much in the latter. This story of an actress (Natalie Portman) who visits a middle-aged sex offender (Julianne Moore) to prepare for a role she's about to play in a movie about her subject's life never seems to find a footing to stick with and explore. The narrative examines many different aspects of the back story behind the lives of the characters to be portrayed in this pending production without ever really resolving any of them by the time the credits roll. This includes not only the protagonist's reasons for pursuing her once-underage husband (Charles Melton) - actions that got her jailed and made her fodder for countless tawdry tabloid cover stories - but also the nature of the actress's real motivations in conducting such an excessively intense in-depth study of her character. In the process, virtually everyone comes across as somewhat unsavory, and, considering that the truth is never clearly revealed about any of them, it begs the question, why should we care about any of this? The film depicts all of this so subtly that it goes beyond nuance, veering into the realm of enigmatic, thereby further reinforcing the notion of why any of us should care. Ironically, these underplayed elements are in stark contrast to some rather obvious (and terribly trite) symbolism, particularly in images related to themes of transition and transformation. The picture's inconsistent changes in tone don't help, either, vacillating between allegedly serious drama and a seemingly underdeveloped desire to break out as an exercise in full-fledged camp (which, by the way, probably would have made this a much better offering). The script's meandering flow and glacial pacing also don't help, leaving viewers scratching their heads more often than not as to where this story is headed. In the end, all of the foregoing is ultimately quite unfortunate, because there's definite potential in this project, but it's never adequately defined and fleshed out. Leads Moore and (especially) Portman turn in admirable efforts to make this material fly, but they simply don't have enough to work with to make that happen. While there appear to be allusions to themes like the difficulty involved in dealing with long-buried feelings and the fact that we may never be able to adequately grasp the truth behind them (either as outsiders looking in or as active participants in the midst of such dealings), the cryptic handling of those ideas undermines whatever meaningful messages or cinematic value they might have, making all of this seem like just such a big waste of time. Director Haynes has an impressive filmography behind him with such releases as "Poison" (1991), "Far From Heaven" (2002) and "Dark Waters" (2019), but, regrettably, "May December" certainly can't be counted as part of that list.

Remember good acting? This has it

[RedCupCoffee · 10/10 · 9 December 2023]

I don't understand all the vitriol and hate, this movie is a study in character building and imagery. Have people become so jaded by cartoonish-superhero effects that they need over-the-top action to think a movie is good. The dumbing-down of America has broke my heart. This is a wonderful movie, with a simple story of an already shocking event that we all know, this is the aftermath. Natalie Portman is a genius, let's all agree on this, she slowly morphs into the Moore character bit-by-bit, by dressing like her and finally speaking like her, she nailed her down. I also loved the animal references, from the cocoons and butterflies to the hunting fox scenes with both characters, that was a beautiful touch. This is a real movie with real faces, real places, and deep emotions.

It was fine for me. But not for everyone.

[levybob · 6/10 · 18 November 2023]

Todd Haynes' 'May December' is not for everyone. I can easily imagine many viewers saying, 'What was that?' after its conclusion. In fact well before its conclusion. We've got a boatload of unlikable adult characters to deal with. A good many likable but confused adolescent poorly-drawn characters to deal with. And frankly we've got no one to root for.

Even so, somehow the film 'worked' for me. There is a sensual tension that sits over the film from its start to finish. The story is that of an adult mother and wife (Julianne Moore) seducing a thirteen year old boy and as a result bearing three children. And this is only one aspect of the film's sensual / sexual tone. When twenty years later an actress (Natalie Portman) arrives in town (Savannah, Ga.) to learn more about the now-adult May-December couple (Portman's character is going to portray the mother in an upcoming film) that sense of sexual tension only increases, as did my interest in the story. The film's center concerns two characters; where little by little one of the two takes on the personality of the other.

There are, however, several 'side-stories' most of which go nowhere. The May-December couples' children are graduating high school (So what?). A son born to the mother in her first marriage is a blackmailer (again, So what?). That same son alleges a same-sex affair with the seduced thirteen year old .. again this goes nowhere. And the actress; her relationship with an unseen film executive is vague, at best. Finally, the thirteen-year-old now a man in his thirties is having a crisis of sorts; though the details of this plot point are never really laid out.

So, if the subject of a May-December affair interests you, you might well enjoy this film. Despite its problems.

If not; I'd say, You can miss it.

Not Good Enough

[PennyReviews · 5/10 · 27 November 2023]

'' May December '' is a drama about an actress who is about to portray the story of a sex offender, and so she starts spending time with her in order to prepare for her movie.

The movie has an intriguing story, and you get the feeling right from the start that there is something even more sinister about those characters that is about to rear its ugly head at any moment. However, that never happens. In fact, in the end, nothing happens. Things remain where they are, and the audiance, who knows that no one is who they appear to be, is left perplexed.

However, the performances were strong from the two leads, Portman and Moore. But, other than that, the movie is a let down.

Not what meets the eye

[steph-57041 · 7/10 · 11 December 2023]

This film is not about the story on the surface. This film is a commentary on film making and the blurred lines and crosses boundaries that so often accompany telling uncomfortable stories.

The last line of the film gives this away when she says "it's starting to feel real."

When does the line between filmmaking and reality lie? Are we exploiting children by putting them in roles that they are truly too young to be in?

Who is the villain in this story? On the surface it would seem to be Julianne Moore's character. But there is a lot more nuance going on here. From this perspective it is a poignant film with important social commentary.

The music sucks, though.

No climax - just like in real life

[lyud1983 · 7/10 · 6 January 2024]

I can see why people feel that this film had no satisfactory ending. While watching it, it felt like a storm was brewing - like you were watching a volcano of buried emotions and unspoken secrets that would eventually erupt, causing chaos and misery.

But nothing happened. No mysteries were revealed. No issues were resolved. Things just remained as they were.

And that was quite disappointing. Shouldn't we know the motives of these people and their secrets? Shouldn't we see the predator paying for their crime and the victim riding off into a new life?

But when you think about it, that's not what usually happens in the real world. Once you get stuck In life, you rarely get a chance to move on. And even if you get it, you don't always act on it. That's was the really depressing thing about this film - it was way too close to real life.

Provocative, compelling, complex, emotional adult drama.!

[blanbrn · 8/10 · 12 December 2023]

"May December" is for sure and certainly a film of mature and not light subject matter, still you as the viewer will feel the complex and harsh emotions of the central characters as the scenes are telling and revealing with all involved.

The story involves a 20 year old tabloid like romance between a married couple Gracie(Julianne Moore) and Joe(Charles Melton). However this all began in a very dark form when Gracie was a school teacher and started with the seduction and dating of Joe at the age of 13. The affair as shown in the film was a legal and front page drama headline sensation.

Now in a wild card like moment and big play of the film enter Elizabeth(the always super great Natalie Portman) an actress who comes into town and enters the life of Joe and Gracie, as she has plenty of stories to take in and do her own research as she gets ready to play Gracie in a film about the love affair.

Along the way all involved get to know one another and feel each other out as strengths and weaknesses are learned and secrets and past lives are revealed and desire and passions are given into. Overall director Todd Haynes makes a pretty compelling character study of raw and real like acceptance showing things in the lives of grown up adults. "May December" may not be everyone's cup of tea, yet I found it an interesting emotional like drama to where the characters open up to one another, plus the acting and on screen chemistry between Moore and Portman is top notch in A plus form.

Good but not great

[LisTomk19 · 7/10 · 14 January 2024]

Very well acted by all involved! Also very well written. The dialogue's fantastic, there's so much subtext, very clever dialogue, and nothing's too obvious, unnatural or over-written.

It's also very stylish. I just couldn't help wondering how it would've turned out if it had been directed by a woman. So many scenes had an unnecessary sexual undertone. Why do men think that's what it's like when two women are together? I would love to see a woman's take on these flawed female characters.

I don't understand how it's considered a comedy for award season. Not comedic in the slightest.

I also find it strange that, when Vili Fualaau has spoken against the film, Todd Haynes has said it's not based on him and his story....when it so obviously is.

But overall it's good! Great performances and script.

The riveting ending

[davidsonshelbyre · 8/10 · 2 December 2023]

I've read through majority of the reviews high and low and completely shocked no one has mentioned the ending! So much to dig deep into, especially the shot of Natalie Portman after Julianne Moore says to her with a straight face, I'm secure...Elizabeth's shoulders go down almost looking valuable and also realizing now..this woman knew what she was doing the whole time. As Natalie Portman killed it once again, I enjoyed watching her as Elizabeth a committed method actor & became Gracie, in so many ways..then I feel at the very end that scene shined a whole knew light which makes you go so much deeper. Very compelling film and impeccable acting from all three!

Awards are coming for this one.

How much controversy Hollywood can take?

[ernamuric · 6/10 · 23 December 2023]

If you are old enough to remember the time when these events shook a public you are probably excited more than you should to see how the movie loosely follows the story and reimagines what could have followed. So it has a pretext that already keeps you engaged and a good cast to deliver it but yet everything gets too drained. The actress investigating the story repeats that she wants to find a truth yet she is constantly dancing around it giving a little satisfaction to the viewers. A mistery that stays hidden, characters that give only a glimpse of what they truly are. I wonder if that was really a director's will to stay out of conclusions and more so, to avoid anything that could slightly be interpreted as politically incorrect.

It would have been much more interesting if they took the story where it actually started: in the classroom. But could Hollywood take the controversy as far is just a rhetorical question.

Don't Waste Your Time

[teresajwilliams · 1/10 · 28 December 2023]

This story is loosely based on the story of Mary Kay Letourneau; a married woman and mother who seduces her 7th grade student, is arrested, becomes pregnant, and serves time in jail.

She's played by Julianne Moore's whose performance as "Gracie" was heartbreaking. She plays an insecure, emotionally unstable & immature woman clearly unable to take ownership for her behavior. She doesn't possess an iota of shame, but is also unable to face the responsibility of her actions.

Enter Elizabeth, an actress on assignment playing Gracie in an upcoming film who wants to do research and study her. Very cringe-worthy performance by Natalie Portman, crossing multiple boundaries including repeating history by seducing Gracie's far younger husband. Portman clearly taking on the role of predator in very cringe-worthy moments, her performance is disturbing, and frankly poorly acted, she was hard to watch.

In one of the final scenes, Gracie's husband is having an existential crisis over how old he was, begging Gracie to discuss it, he breaks down in a heartbreaking scene. In typical predator behavior, Gracie blames him for seducing her and being "the boss".

The film is every bit as lurid as the real life story, and I'm not sure what Todd Haynes was attempting to examine here; how these decisions ultimately unravel everyone, or that Predators take many forms-?

Examining the origin of both parties, and what led to her self-described naïveté as an adult would have been far more interesting to me.

Finally, the score was severely distracting, musically repetitive, necessitating muting the music halfway through the film all the way to the end.

Todd Haynes' latest Is a masterpiece that sneaks up on you. Easily one of the year's best films.

[ryanpersaud-59415 · 9/10 · 15 January 2024]

May December is one of those films that sneaks up on you; right after watching it, I felt like I liked it, but didn't really understand the hype. Only after sitting with the film, considering what it's saying and what it's exploring, did I truly appreciate how special this movie is.

Todd Haynes has crafted my favourite type of movie: a simple story that's about a lot. May December follows Elizabeth (Portman) an actress playing tabloid superstar Gracie Atherton (Moore) in a movie (based off the real life teacher-turned-pedophile Mary Kay Letourneau - look her up, you know who she is) and studying her for the role. In doing so, Elizabeth begins learning more about the family her and Joe (Charles Melton) created (Joe is very clearly based off of Villi Fulaau, the child Letorneau "fell in love with" and eventually started a family with - she was pregnant in prison with his child, really, look this up if you aren't aware)

Through this simple premise, May December becomes a meditation on abuse, exploitation, and trauma buoyed my fantastic performances, shots dripping in symbolism, and purposefully campy style reminiscent of schlocky TV true crime movies (complete with that iconic, bizarre but entirely appropriate piano number that really makes the movie).

This film presents Joe and Gracie as a happily married couple, with three beautiful children, financial success, and good relations with the rest of the community. You're tempted to think that even if the *way* Gracie and Joe met was fundamentally wrong, does the family and home that came from that relationship justify it? The film doesn't force feed an answer and doesn't go for "moral slam dunks," but it does present abuse as something you can't really get over without addressing.

A lot of these themes are presented by Joe played by Charles Melton of Riverdale and 13 Reasons Why fame. To say his performance is incredible would be an understatement, because it's amazing how in a film where he stars opposite Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, he's the standout performance. (Those women are fantastic by the way, especially Julianne Moore) His body language, tempo of speaking, and jittery screen presence really communicate the essence of his character. Joe is outwardly successful and happy, but there's clearly something off about him. He seems like a child stuck in a man's body and its through him do we see the consequences of a fundamentally unjust relationship on the victimized. His performance and this character are haunting and powerful.

To their credit, Moore and Portman paint portraits of what abuse and abusers can really look like, far from the notions we typically have of them. Moore is soft spoken, gentle, and appears loving, but her manipulative and self-serving ways are never far from the surface. It's a beautifully nuanced and realistic performance.

Portman is excellent here as well and gives one of the best performances of her career. When she enters the film, the audience sees her as a fundamentally "good" and "normal" person. However, the film slowly reveals whom she really is, and it's not pretty. Portman to me represents the media; it can do and be good, but more often than not, is self-interested and exploitative, eating up and spitting out people because it sort of has to. Her interaction with Joe towards the end (and really, the whole final act of the film) is absolutely brilliant.

I could gush on and on about this movie; the soft cinematography, the gentle pacing, the incredible symbolism. It almost lulls you into complacency and comfort, only to reveal the ugliness within. In that sense, it's probably one of the best films about abuse and trauma I've ever seen, because it reminds us that monsters don't have to actually look, act, or feel a certain way. And trauma is something that time can't always heal by itself.

A story with a lot to explore but ended up being inconsequential

[JulesAndVincent6 · 7/10 · 28 January 2024]

Before seeing the film I was very curious, I think the story was interesting, along with a renowned director and a very good cast starring Julianne Moore, Natalie Portman and a surprising Charles Melton.

I felt that the film had a lot to exploit with the psychological aspect of the characters, because basically that's where the appeal comes from, an actress who has to analyze the person behind the media character to interpret her.

But I think the script rambles too much and ends up not being very conclusive in all the aspects it tries to cover, its story remains a big what if.

But it's also true, Natalie Portman and Charles Melton were brilliant with their performances, Julianne Moore too. I think it could have been a great movie but it fell short.

May dissappointment

[lnna11 · 5/10 · 18 November 2023]

The movie was not what I expected. The aesthethics and the setting were beautiful and all the lead roles did a good job acting their parts HOWEVER everything else was, to put it mildly, underwhelming. The plotline was flat and didn't offer many surprises. Dramatic music and scenes building up the excitement made me long for some sort of a climax, and it just never came. It was basicly 2 hours of waiting, like smelling delicious food but never getting to taste it. The themes were interesting and important and offered a lot of potential for a great movie. The movie was just simply missing the turning point! All in all, I would not see this movie again.

The drama is within each characyed

[qdliusiwen · 7/10 · 11 January 2024]

So much tension between each characters and lust and surprisingly, motherly love. I can see why some people would find this movie uneventful, but I think each character is a story in itself, showing you all the conflicting parts of it.

Charles Melton (Joe) did a phenomenal job, playing someone who was a mature kid and a stunted adult, embodying both at the same time. Natalie Portman (Elizabeth) brings a narcissistic and condescending being into the spotlight. And Julienne (Gracie)!! The character was just so complex and conflicting, and sinister.

The soundtrack and the framing of characters add so much to this story.