No one understands the complexities of melodrama quite like the great Todd Haynes, one of the most vital voices in American cinema who has given us incredible films like Safe, Far From Heaven, and Carol. His latest film, May December, finds him returning to the suburbs for an unexpectedly fun and spellbinding film starring the powerhouse duo of Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore in a Persona-like dynamic.
May December follows Elizabeth Perry (Portman), a Hollywood actor yearning for a meaty role. She travels to Savannah, Georgia, to research Gracie Atherton-Yoo (Moore), whose highly-publicized relationship with Joe (Charles Melton) is being turned into an indie film. Through flashes of tabloid covers and clippings, Haynes and screenwriter Samy Burch present us with the details of the scandal that rocked the nation (which is inspired by the 1990s story of Mary Kay Letourneau): Gracie, aged 36 and married with children at the time, had an affair with a minor, then 13-year-old Joe Yoo, and were caught in the stock room of the pet store they worked in, leading to Gracie’s arrest.
Over two decades later, the pair are a seemingly happily married couple with three children — one in college and the other two about to leave the nest — as Gracie runs a small baking business that’s being kept alive by a small circle of friends who secretly feel bad for her. The family are unsurprisingly comfortable with Elizabeth studying their lives because Gracie and Joe have convinced themselves that, unlike other projects made about them, this one will tell their story fairly. As Elizabeth spends more time with them, shadowing them in their daily lives as well as interviewing Gracie’s first husband and son from her first marriage, she begins to realize there’s more to the relationship than meets the eye.
Moore, in her fifth collaboration with Haynes, brings depth and a touch of camp to the confident and unapologetic Gracie — who describes herself as naive, but is truly delusional and remains blinded to the damage she has caused. Melton, who is known for his role in The CW’s teen drama Riverdale, emerges as the true standout of the film. He holds his own against veteran Oscar winners. As someone whose entire life has been shaped and defined by something he was manipulated into as a child, Melton gives a quietly nuanced performance that grounds the film against bigger performances from Moore and Portman.
Through the vapid character of Elizabeth, one of the most brilliant performances of Portman’s career, Haynes explores the blurring of lines when it comes to the lengths a performer goes to when committing to a role, especially one inspired by a real person. It becomes disturbingly apparent that the two women are more alike than Elizabeth lets on. In one scene, after scrolling through self-tapes for the role of a young Joe, she tells producers that none of the teenage boys are “sexy” enough.
The script written by Burch, who has worked primarily as a casting director, is so darkly comic and sharp that it’s difficult to believe this is her feature debut. Another highlight that further develops the film’s comedic undertones is Marcelo Zavros’s memorable score, adapted from Michel Legrand’s work on Joseph Losey’s Palme d’Or-winning The Go-Between. May December is easily Haynes’ funniest work to date, approaching the story with a hazy lightness that is not typical for the filmmaker. It is uncomfortable and heartbreaking just as much as it is playful and wickedly delightful, and only a director like Haynes would manage to pull off such a searing and ambiguous character study so perfectly.
