May December (2023)

Streaming on Netflix Now

★★★★ (out of 5)

Is it just me, or is Todd Haynes a Douglas Sirk fan? Because with his new film, May December, he has brought about the return of the melodrama in a way that feels like a homage to the films of Sirk. A melodramatic campy satire on tabloid stories, character studies, crime docs, and specifically Method Acting. Todd Haynes really delivers with something so unexpected, walking a tightrope in executing a distinct tone for this deeply uncomfortable story. It’s darkly comic and tragic, but also sly and cerebral in its approach. Very good stuff. Haynes has made a beautiful, terrible nesting doll of a film with a uniquely twisted core. Beneath the droll portrait of an actor’s obsession with her muse is an unsettling tale of what happens when people refuse to tell the truth.

This movie explores the deepest, most unspoken layers in each of its characters. Pitting the stories they tell themselves about who they are against an elusive truth, observing how they break down when confronted with just the suggestion of a reality that breaks their narrative. I love filmmaking that allows the actors to tell a different story than the dialogue. May December puts you on your toes, watching every move of these characters, and the actors reward the audience for paying close attention. There are so many small lines of dialogue or subtle glances that make your skin crawl — you’re truly never sure what each character is thinking. Every moment is filled with “they say one thing, but mean another” tension. It's a movie with many layers, spanning generations and motivations, that bears thinking about and certainly re-watching. It goes without saying that this script is incredible!

Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore are sensational, but Charles Melton managed to stand out from the two actresses with a sincere standout performance in a tricky role. Portman and Moore fight for control in this tale of abuse and celebrity, but Charles Melton, playing a man frozen in time as a young boy, steals the show in a vulnerable, heartbreaking fashion. Three of the greatest performances of the year.

As a whole, May December is intoxicating, deeply upsetting, and funny in ways that contradict the sickly interior of the film's genre boundaries. The score goes immensely hard in its theatricality— I loved it. Haynes lets us sit in the truth of the situation. No matter what occurred in the past, there’s still considerable tension to explore in each relationship. How he exploits those tensions is what makes Haynes a master. It’s a film ripe for rewatching and exploration of every detail. Lots to unpack and think about, and that's what makes it great!

---

Premise: Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, a married couple buckles under pressure when an actress arrives to do research for a film about their past.

•

Netflix

Directed by Todd Haynes

Screenplay by Samy Burch

Story by Samy Burch & Alex Mechanik

Cast: Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, Charles Melton

Runtime: 1hr 57min

Rating: 14A

Comedy, Drama

•

IMDb Rating: 7.3/10

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%

RT Audience Score: 85%

RT Critic Average: 8/10

RT Audience Average: 4.3/5

Metacritic Score: 85

Letterboxd: 4.0/5

•

Fun Fact: Julianne Moore (Gracie) did not notice Natalie Portman (Elizabeth) was improvising by mimicking her mannerisms in some scenes until later into filming.

•