Continuing a recent string of watching movies that I knew almost nothing about before my viewing (the underrated Saltburn and the mystifying Infinity Pool being the two most recent), Todd Haynes’s (Carol, Dark Waters) May December rewarded me with an experience I won’t soon forget. First and foremost, watching this film is somewhat disturbing, making the viewer frequently feel uncomfortable. While not for everyone, this harrowing portrayal is a diligent, albeit flawed, portrayal of a family after the fallout of a story that was so taboo that it was the cover story for tabloid magazines across the country.
This film is frustrating from the get-go. The relationships, dynamics, and timeframes aren’t flushed out as neatly as they should have been. While by design, Haynes didn’t make it easy for us. Had I been watching this film at home instead of the theater, I would have grown impatient and turned towards other diversions. I would not have been as immersed in the story as I was through my theater experience, where I was more forced to pay attention. While I was rewarded for sticking with it, I was annoyed that the simplest plot points weren’t easier to digest. At the same time, I understand Haynes created a film around an uncomfortable topic, in which he chose not to give clearly defined answers at any point. This is effective for some but maddening for others. I prefer a film that makes me think versus one that spoon-feeds me from credit to credit. While May December requires the viewers to have an open mind and make their own conclusions, it felt like a pretty bumpy road with a number of hairpin turns along the way.
Natalie Portman (Black Swan, Jackie) stars as Elizabeth, a well-known actress who is looking to expand the limited range her career has previously afforded her by portraying the role of Gracie (Julianne Moore – The Hours, Still Alice) in an upcoming independent based upon the story movie of a period of three year period of her and her husband, Georgie’s (Charles Melton – CW’s Riverdale, Bad Boys For Life) life. What is so remarkable about Gracie and Georgie’s story?
Gracie is 60, and Georgie is 36. That is a bit of an age gap for a married couple, but nothing unheard of. However…they’ve been together for 24 years. A 36-year-old Gracie was married with kids when she had an affair with a fellow employee at a local pet shop. Georgie was 12 years old and a 7th-grade student at the time. This was enough for tabloid fodder, for sure. But what makes this story so interesting that it’s being made into a movie? Gracie was sentenced and sent to prison, where she bore her and Georgie’s oldest daughter behind bars.
The pair married and had two more children, a girl, and a boy, twins. We spent a week with the family, culminating in the twins’ high school graduation. Was it mainly from Elizabeth’s point of view we learn about the family’s history, successes, failures, and why Gracie and Georgie chose to live in the same town where their transgressions first happened? It’s a rich character story that unfolds slowly and unsurely. The viewer must be patient, but the reward is there for those who persevere.
May December is likely to get a lot of buzz around awards season. Moore and Portman are fantastic, especially as their tension quietly builds and boils. Elizabeth sees this role as an opportunity to advance her career beyond the commercials and crunch-worth shows that had defined her career. Meanwhile, Gracie considers the movie a chance for her story to be told in a way that doesn’t portray her as the monster many believe her to be. She gets particularly testy when Elizabeth asks her questions that don’t pertain to the three-year period that the movie is set to portray.
The star of May December, though, is Melton. Georgie was 36 when we met him, the same age as Elizabeth currently is, and the same age Gracie was when they got together. He’s a soft, gentle man who has been nurtured by a wife who serves as much, and sometimes more, as a mother figure than she does a partner. Elizabeth probes him and, in doing so, forces him to revisit his feelings from their encounter and look within to see how they’ve changed him over the previous 23 years. Georgie is a 36-year-old man who, on one hand, is about to become an empty-nester and, on the other, feels as if he hasn’t even begun living his life again.
May December will not answer all your questions, nor does it try to. That isn’t what Haynes is interested in. His movie will impact you, perhaps even profoundly, depending on your life stage and how you view this period of your life. I was more uncomfortable and annoyed than I wanted, typically a surefire sign of a film I didn’t enjoy. While I’ll never revisit the movie, I am glad I saw it and devoted my concentration to it.
Plot 8/10
Character Development 9.5/10
Character Chemistry 8/10
Acting 9/10
Screenplay 7.25/10
Directing 7.25/10
Cinematography 9/10
Sound 7.5/10 (some will love the heavy pedals of the contrasting score, while others will think it lessens the serious tones. All will say it’s distinguishingly pushed)
Hook and Reel 7/10 (it requires the viewer to stick with the film early and often).
Universal Relevance 8/10
80.5%
Movies You Might Like If You Liked This Movie
- Far From Heaven
- Carol
- Lolita
- Lost in Translation
- The Graduate