Let me start by saying that I wish May December, Todd Haynes’ latest masterpiece, was much longer. So many lines stood out to me; it was such an intelligent film. It was incredibly funny at times, which is so delicate and hard to pull off considering the subject matter, and at the end of the day Haynes nailed it.
Elizabeth, (Natalie Portman), portrays an A-list Hollywood actress studying Gracie, (Julianne Moore). This is a woman who, (based on a real-life story, and trigger warning), molested a child, Joe (now 36, played by Charles Melton), and ended up starting a family with him. She subsequently went to jail, they became married, and we find them now as their children head off to college. To be frank, this is not a “tabloid romance,” as some misleading summary lines might read, but that also isn’t the point of this film. Gracie, and the woman on whom she is based, are child molesters. But I think what makes this story so interesting and ultimately so successful in its delivery is it is considering what this story is like to its victim and the people around him twenty years down the line because that story still matters.
Portman is incredible. She makes you feel like you know Elizabeth and her intentions, and then she flips her performance on its nose over and over again, almost like we’re watching her add layers onto a sandwich, the sandwich being an analogy for her performance as Gracie! Just fundamentally speaking, I am always interested in the concept of acting and how actors work, so the fact that this was a film surrounding that process was exciting for me to watch. Portman made me understand acting better but made her character even more of a mystery, and for that alone, she deserves her flowers.
I loved the connection this film inherently has with Persona, (Ingmar Bergman), and I love that it’s not shy about it either. It’s also something meta; that films about mirroring end up mirroring one another. Whether that is inherent or due to their artistic values is an interesting question. The x-ray scene immediately made my mind jump to that Persona projection scene, I loved it. Homages are always gonna be tasteful to me because, well, taste! Bergman is truly as good as it gets. There was even one scene in the pet store that kind of reminded me of Andrzej Żuławski’s body-horror Possession. Haynes’ direction and commitment to highlighting the horror in everyday life was new to me but now it’s true to me. I’m obsessed with where he chooses to focus his story and how the core emotions and stories within this film manifest themselves in scenes. To anyone who thinks this is a conceptually unethical film, or who thinks the topic is enough to stay away, you’re missing the point and also missing an opportunity to watch a great film with even greater performances. The tactful subversion of expectation should be welcomed in any film and is at home here in May December.
Melton is magnetic on-screen and yet heartbreaking to watch as we feel so strongly and so immediately for his character. I can’t stop reiterating; just WOW. Such intuitive yet deliberate acting decisions were made by him, and the thing I love most about watching good actors is when they continue to surprise me. I know so much about his character from his subdued acting decisions, but these decisions are so jarring in a way that his mechanisms are obvious about the human condition, but I have never thought of or have seen in this light before. When Joe walks around the house, his shoulders hang low. He is unable to have normal social interaction with anyone older than him, as he is controlled by Gracie. He cannot connect to anyone of his age for the most part, shutting down conversations with Elizabeth. He even struggles the most, and we see him the most emotional, surrounding his children. In one scene, Joe cries to his son, Charlie (Gabriel Chung), about to graduate high school, “I can’t tell if we’re connecting or if I’m creating a bad memory for you.”
Somehow, though we see a more reclusive side to him for the most part, we know and feel for Joe. We see his gentle nature; his innocence. Caring for butterflies; we see him in his love for his children, and for the most part, his own robbed childhood. This is someone who is financially successful and has a healthy lifestyle with his children despite being robbed of his own life in many ways, it makes me consider so many people in a similar position who aren't even doing as well as Joe. We see the toll that has manifested itself onto him, its clear that this is something that will never go away. We see a glimpse of the cost of a robbed innocence and life, someone who is still required to take on most of the responsibility in the family and serve as a foundation for others when he has had that stolen from him and finds himself reflecting on his position.
Don’t waste your time. Watch May December. Every scene has a purpose and a jarring new way to think about what a situation like this really does to people.
★★★★½ / ★★★★★
Elizabeth, (Natalie Portman), portrays an A-list Hollywood actress studying Gracie, (Julianne Moore). This is a woman who, (based on a real-life story, and trigger warning), molested a child, Joe (now 36, played by Charles Melton), and ended up starting a family with him. She subsequently went to jail, they became married, and we find them now as their children head off to college. To be frank, this is not a “tabloid romance,” as some misleading summary lines might read, but that also isn’t the point of this film. Gracie, and the woman on whom she is based, are child molesters. But I think what makes this story so interesting and ultimately so successful in its delivery is it is considering what this story is like to its victim and the people around him twenty years down the line because that story still matters.
Portman is incredible. She makes you feel like you know Elizabeth and her intentions, and then she flips her performance on its nose over and over again, almost like we’re watching her add layers onto a sandwich, the sandwich being an analogy for her performance as Gracie! Just fundamentally speaking, I am always interested in the concept of acting and how actors work, so the fact that this was a film surrounding that process was exciting for me to watch. Portman made me understand acting better but made her character even more of a mystery, and for that alone, she deserves her flowers.
I loved the connection this film inherently has with Persona, (Ingmar Bergman), and I love that it’s not shy about it either. It’s also something meta; that films about mirroring end up mirroring one another. Whether that is inherent or due to their artistic values is an interesting question. The x-ray scene immediately made my mind jump to that Persona projection scene, I loved it. Homages are always gonna be tasteful to me because, well, taste! Bergman is truly as good as it gets. There was even one scene in the pet store that kind of reminded me of Andrzej Żuławski’s body-horror Possession. Haynes’ direction and commitment to highlighting the horror in everyday life was new to me but now it’s true to me. I’m obsessed with where he chooses to focus his story and how the core emotions and stories within this film manifest themselves in scenes. To anyone who thinks this is a conceptually unethical film, or who thinks the topic is enough to stay away, you’re missing the point and also missing an opportunity to watch a great film with even greater performances. The tactful subversion of expectation should be welcomed in any film and is at home here in May December.
Melton is magnetic on-screen and yet heartbreaking to watch as we feel so strongly and so immediately for his character. I can’t stop reiterating; just WOW. Such intuitive yet deliberate acting decisions were made by him, and the thing I love most about watching good actors is when they continue to surprise me. I know so much about his character from his subdued acting decisions, but these decisions are so jarring in a way that his mechanisms are obvious about the human condition, but I have never thought of or have seen in this light before. When Joe walks around the house, his shoulders hang low. He is unable to have normal social interaction with anyone older than him, as he is controlled by Gracie. He cannot connect to anyone of his age for the most part, shutting down conversations with Elizabeth. He even struggles the most, and we see him the most emotional, surrounding his children. In one scene, Joe cries to his son, Charlie (Gabriel Chung), about to graduate high school, “I can’t tell if we’re connecting or if I’m creating a bad memory for you.”
Somehow, though we see a more reclusive side to him for the most part, we know and feel for Joe. We see his gentle nature; his innocence. Caring for butterflies; we see him in his love for his children, and for the most part, his own robbed childhood. This is someone who is financially successful and has a healthy lifestyle with his children despite being robbed of his own life in many ways, it makes me consider so many people in a similar position who aren't even doing as well as Joe. We see the toll that has manifested itself onto him, its clear that this is something that will never go away. We see a glimpse of the cost of a robbed innocence and life, someone who is still required to take on most of the responsibility in the family and serve as a foundation for others when he has had that stolen from him and finds himself reflecting on his position.
Don’t waste your time. Watch May December. Every scene has a purpose and a jarring new way to think about what a situation like this really does to people.
★★★★½ / ★★★★★
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