Director: Todd Haynes
Starring: Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, Charles Melton
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 117 mins

May December is the new Todd Haynes film, a drama loosely inspired by the Mary Kay Letourneau scandal where the then-34 year old had a sexual relationship with 12-year-old Vili Fualaau. Haynes-regular Julianne Moore plays Gracie Atherton-Yoo, who was caught having sex with 13-year-old Joe Woo at the age of 36 and gave birth to Joe’s child while serving a prison sentence. 23 years later, Gracie and Joe (Charles Melton) are married with three children, their relationship seemingly continuing to blossom. Natalie Portman plays Elizabeth Berry, an actress who is about to play Gracie in a film and as part of her research for the role, spends a couple of weeks with the family to find inspiration for her performance. She also further researches the wider community and how the scandal continues to loom over the town.

May December is an excellent, multi-layered drama and is quite possibly Todd Haynes’ finest work to date – I was enthralled from start to finish.  The film isn’t interested at all in unpicking the how’s and why’s of what happened. Haynes refreshingly chooses to focus on the dark and tangled obsessions of its characters and how they mirror each other. The film is seeping in details to unpick and there are many different possible readings, which make it all the more satisfying. It’s brilliantly paced with a sharp script by Samy Burch which deftly balances the camp and unease. 

Natalie Portman is phenomenal as Berry, in what is a fitting companion piece to her roles in Vox Lux and Jackie, in which she plays characters that are also putting on a performance. As Berry delves deeper into Gracie’s psyche, she starts to imitate Gracie’s mannerisms and appearance, even pursuing a faux-relationship with Joe to try and imitate the life of her subject. Crucially, Portman’s performance asks the question – is Berry simply looking to create the most authentic performance possible or is she looking for sexual gratification out of the process? 

Julianne Moore’s lispy turn is also impressionable as the flawed and unstable Gracie, who lives her life on tenterhooks. But it’s Charles Melton who out-acts both Portman and Moore as the genteel Joe who doesn’t know how to live his life. He’s lost his childhood which was stolen from him by Gracie but he wants a meaningful relationship with his children and is bittersweet about his two youngest flocking the nest to go to university. Two tremendous scenes stand out in particular, one of Joe sharing a beer with his ageing, chain-smoking father on his balcony and him trying cannabis for the first time with his son outside his bedroom window. 

Perfectly complimenting the film is a peppery score by Marcelo Zarvos, who reuses Michael Legrand’s whirlwind-like themes from The Go-Between but develops them beautifully. The film is lusciously shot by Christopher Blauvelt, a scene where Berry and Gracie are talking while Gracie’s daughter is trying on graduation dresses is particularly memorable, Berry effectively bookend by two Grace’s in the mirror. I also loved the butterfly imagery, a hobby of Joe’s. 

May December is a deliciously compelling psychological drama that demands multiple rewatches to further unpick its meanings. It’s Haynes’ best film and is totally seductive in its execution and it will leave you breathless in its closing moments. This is a must-see and one of the best films of the year. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Excellent)