"May December" - Netflix Film Review
May December wants to give you the impression that everything is picturesque. The grainy film, the rich colors, and the Southern warmth all offer a homey feeling right off the bat. It’s only once the opening scene begins to unfold that the audience realizes there’s something different about the circumstances that brought these people together. In the ’90s, Gracie (Julianne Moore) and Joe (Charles Melton) were at the center of a tabloid storm because of their relationship. They met when thirteen-year-old Joe walked into the pet shop where Gracie worked and asked for a job. From there, a romantic relationship started that led to Gracie serving jail time and giving birth to their first child while in prison. In the present day, actress Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman) arrives at Joe and Gracie’s home to learn about their relationship in preparation for portraying Gracie in a movie. (As one might imagine, May December is loosely inspired by the story of Mary Kay Letourneau.)
“What would make a thirty-six-year-old woman have an affair with a seventh grader?” asks Gracie’s ex-husband over coffee. That question is not Elizabeth’s sole focus when she’s prodding Joe and Gracie about their lives. In fact, it’s not a question she ever asks outright. As the film unfolds, it’s also clear that it’s not a question Gracie would likely answer honestly.
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There’s a sense of absurdity that threads its way through May December. Moore’s dramatic gasp about potentially not having enough hot dogs for a barbeque is delivered with the same deep concern a major tragedy would elicit. Marcelo Zarvos’ score is a touch zany, always appearing in an odd musical sting after an important moment. The score seems to exist to point out the unusual circumstance of having a Hollywood actress follow you around as she prepares to portray you in a movie. Never once is the focus of the humor on Joe and the effects of Gracie’s grooming on him.
Melton’s performance is simply extraordinary. To go from being most known as a Riverdale actor to stealing scenes from career veterans like Moore and Portman is no simple feat, but it’s one he manages effortlessly. Joe is trying to understand how to be an adult when he loses control of his life at thirteen. There aren’t many films that really burrow into the psyche of someone who was groomed like this. Few scenes exemplify Joe’s character better than when he smokes a cigarette with his father (Kelvin Han Yee), and then later, a joint with his son (Gabriel Chung). Both of these scenes make it painfully clear how lost he is. He feels out of place smoking a cigarette and he’s never smoked a joint. Too young to relate to his father, too old to be a peer to his son.
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Portman’s character offers a glimpse into her process as an actor. She’s the stand-in for the audience, asking the questions of Joe and Gracie that are lurking in the minds of the viewers. The bulk of her performance, however, is in becoming Moore’s Gracie. It’s thrilling and uncomfortable to watch as Elizabeth studiously observes Gracie’s every mannerism and then morphs herself to reflect those same traits. Toward the end of the film, Portman looks directly down the barrel and mimics Moore’s breathy voice, performing a monologue from the upcoming film. It’s impressive to watch her lose herself in the role and slightly terrifying to see how easily she’s able to portray strong emotions with the flip of a switch. This may be Portman’s best outing since Jackie.
While there’s nothing outright graphic or gruesome happening on screen, May December is unbearable. The false sense of breeziness is actually stiflingly heavy, like the deep humid air of the film’s location. No one can catch their breath in a setting like this, and it’s not just because the film takes place in Georgia. It’s in the lies these characters tell themselves and the world they’ve built that effectively blocks out the consequences of their actions.
Courtesy of Netflix
Elizabeth is adamant that she wants to tell a complicated, human story in her film. She wants to tell something that is “true,” but what does that mean for each of the characters? Joe has clearly not processed the trauma in his life, and so his truth is vastly different from Gracie’s. It’s heartbreaking to see Joe finally get to the point where he asks “what if I wasn’t ready for that?”. He is now looking at what was presented to him as true for twenty years and wondering if it may have been a lie all along.
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