(NEXSTAR) — No unbelievable twist happens in the climax of “May December,” the newest film from “Carol” director Todd Haynes. Nevertheless, the moment ends with one of the film’s main characters utterly speechless — and perhaps irreparably changed.
“May December,” which hits Netflix on Dec. 1., stars Best Actress Oscar winners Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman, in an emotional thriller that continually blurs the lines of morality, identity and storytelling.
The film is loosely inspired by the infamous real-life case of then-36 year-old teacher Mary Kay Letourneau, who was convicted in 1997 for the sexual abuse of 12 year-old student Vili Fualaau. Letourneau would give birth to Fualaau’s child during the trial and the two married after Letourneau’s 2004 prison release, when Fualaau was an adult.
The case was one of the 1990s’ biggest news stories and a scandal that would become prime fodder for the true crime genre in the decades that followed. And that’s where “May December” picks up.
When Elizabeth Berry (Portman) arrives in Savannah, Georgia, to research local Gracie Atherton-Yoo (Moore), a former pet store worker who was sentenced to prison for sexual abuse of a 13 year-old back in the early 1990s, she’s surprised to find things seem more normal than expected. Elizabeth is preparing to play Gracie in a forthcoming film and she hopes to present the complexities of the problematic figure. But Elizabeth’s well-intentioned shadowing of Gracie soon uncovers uncomfortable truths all of the characters — including Elizabeth herself — are hiding from.
Caught up in this spiral is Joe Yoo (Charles Melton, “Riverdale”), who is now the age Gracie was when she blew up her previous life to pursue a relationship with him. At just 36, Joe is preparing to be an empty nester, with the couple’s children leaving for college. This change, plus the emergence of a TV actress in his home complicate what had been Joe’s seemingly happy life.
Despite sharing the screen with two of Hollywood’s most celebrated stars, Melton carries his scenes with palpable heaviness, including a bittersweet late moment with the son he gave up his youth to raise.
Portman plays Elizabeth’s observation of Gracie’s unusual life with an icy matter-of-factness, and Portman’s greatest moments in the film come when Elizabeth purposely loses herself in the research. It’s a performance that might feel like something of a spiritual successor to “Black Swan”‘s controlled-then-uncontrolled ballerina, the role which Portman snagged the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2011.
Meanwhile, Moore’s Gracie moves through the film with a childlike fragility encasing an aching inner core. Gracie often reacts unlike what Elizabeth (and the audience) expect from her and emotionally, Moore continually opens trap doors of Gracie’s that only leave Elizabeth understanding less, not more.
With awards season impending, it’s highly likely all three “May December” leads will receive acting nominations. Haynes, meanwhile, might possibly snag his first directing Oscar nomination for the intrusive intimacy he imbues into the film. Very often, Haynes’ direction draws the audience into a character’s most private moments — documentary-like — before yanking the camera back horrifically, reminding you that you are indeed watching a movie and yes, foulness is afoot.
All of this shouldn’t imply that the film isn’t darkly comedic. With a sharp and thoughtful screenplay by Sammy Burch (the recently beleaguered “Coyote vs. Acme”), you’ll find yourself laughing when you feel like you shouldn’t just before shielding your eyes from what you can’t stop from happening.
It goes without saying that this R-rated feature should be reserved for an adults night in.
“May December” makes for an entertaining watch but also one that benefits from discussion among viewers, even second watches. It goes down easier than this review might imply but it also takes some time to digest. Where some of Haynes’ most signature films (2002’s “Far From Heaven,” 2015’s “Carol”) send viewers off with melodramatic heartache and/or hope, “May December” sends its viewers off questioning what they’ve seen and how they might even have been complicit in proliferating stories like the one at the center of “May December.”
The film, which earned Haynes his fifth Palme d’Or nomination at the Cannes Film Festival, currently holds a 93% Rotten Tomatoes score. “May December” is now in select theaters ahead of its Netflix streaming release this coming Friday. This is one fall release you’ll want to have seen ahead of next year’s awards ceremonies.
