“May December” Review
Natalie Portman (Left) portrays an actress studying Julianne Moore’s controversial marriage for a film in “May December”, Todd Haynes’ latest film is available on Netflix as an original film.
One filmmaker whose work I’m realizing more and more has this remarkable power is Todd Haynes. If you’ve seen a Todd Haynes film, you know that he often likes to make a challenge at something whether it be societal norms, corporate greed or even the structure of an entire genre. With films like “Velvet Goldmine”, “Dark Waters” and “I’m Not There”, the finest film ever made about Bob Dylan, Haynes is a fantastic example of an auteur filmmaker. With his recent film “May December”, Haynes has crafted a deeply fascinating drama that takes us on a discomforting path through a taboo relationship.
In 2015, a famous actress named Elizabeth (Natalie Portman) arrives in coastal Georgia to meet and study a woman named Gracie Atherton-Yoo (Julianne Moore) whose controversial life is the subject of a film that Elizabeth will be starring in. The reason for Gracie’s infamy is that, 23 years ago, she became romantically involved with a 13-year-old named Joe Yoo (Charles Melton) and had his child while she was imprisoned for their affair. Now, Joe and Gracie have been married for decades, have three children and still deal with societal pushback for their relationship. Spending time with them, Elizabeth seeks to accurately assess the core of their relationship for the sake of the film but, the closer she gets to her subjects, the closer Elizabeth gets to crossing ethical lines.
With a premise like that, “May December” is already asking a lot of its audience. The relationship of Gracie and Joe spawned from grooming and the film never tries to santaise or hide this fact. What Samy Burch’s script does is create this intricate story where you can get a deep, empathetic look at these people that everyone else has judged. “May December” takes an interesting look at the boundaries that are crossed by these characters and whether they should have been transgressed in the first place. Burch also ingest a surprising element of humor into the film. It’s not enough to warrant the film having been nominated for Best Picture - Musical or Comedy at the most recent Golden Globe awards but it does provide a good deal of levity to enhance this drama.
Natalie Portman’s leading performance is one of her strongest roles because, at first, it seems as if she’s the one that the audience can really identify with. After all, we’re probably just as curious about Gracie and Joe’s marriage as she is and want to see beyond a simple grooming versus true love narrative. However, Elizabeth’s objectivity gradually vanishes and you begin to get a strong feeling that she’s going too far with how personally she’s getting involved with these people.
Julianne Moore and Charles Melton are also quite stellar because they manage to pull off the impossible: make this relationship seem (on the surface) healthy and built on strong love. In fact, while there is a noticeable 30 year age gap between Melton and Moore, the life that they’ve built looks beautiful with three successful kids, two of which are about to graduate high school. But the problem is where (or when to be more precise) this relationship began and you can’t deny that. There’s also this brewing darkness that becomes more apparent throughout the film. The more you see of these two and the more you learn about their pasts and activities with each other and separately, the more entranced you are while wondering if you should be feeling that way given what we know about this marriage.
Under Haynes’ exceptional direction, he mixes these very human characters with uncomfortable situations that make for great drama. By taking on a subject as shocking as grooming, “May December” quickly reels you in, wondering what this film is going to do, and then keeps you questioning what this film is really about. The questions it asks are extremely challenging and the answers are as nuanced as they are uncomfortable.
Incredibly fascinating and full of intrigue, “May December” once again showcases Todd Haynes’ talents for thinking outside of conventions. If the idea of the film is something you find shocking, you’re only scratching the surface with the unpredictable story that Haynes takes us through.
