Portman, Moore, and Melton Stun in Todd Haynes’ New Murky Melodrama

The quote from Todd Haynes, director of the new film May December, states:

“…If there’s any universal theme in all my films, it seems to be disease… And I hope that changes, but I have a feeling it may not until things change in the world…”

And while Haynes said that in 1995, it’s been more or less true all these years – from his first underground film Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, to Poison, to Safe, to Dark Waters, and now to May December. 

Where does disease come into play in his latest film? May December tells the story of the actress Elizabeth (Natalie Portman), who takes on the task of studying the infamous Gracie (Julianne Moore), who 20 years earlier made headlines for having sexual relations with a 13-year-old boy. The sick twist? She had his child in prison. Oh, and now they’ve been married for 23 years. Put simply, Gracie is a sex offender – a pedophile. She has a disease of the mind.

If this all sounds familiar, it’s because it is. The film is inspired by the story of Mary Kay Letourneau. But Haynes and first-time feature writer, Samy Burch, expertly take this story away from simply reiterating the true facts of that story, and they create something even more complicated and compelling, blurring the lines of what is acceptable and what isn’t. It’s a movie made to make you feel uncomfortable. And that’s saying a lot, considering the already thorny subject.

Because it should be easy enough to condemn Gracie. But we get a snapshot of where their lives are now: Gracie is long out of prison, Joe (Charles Melton) is in his mid-thirties, their children are about to go to college, they live in a beautiful house by the water, they have friends. Is everything actually normal or is something lurking under the surface?

And in comes the actress, who wants to study Gracie for an upcoming movie based on Gracie and Joe’s salacious and highly controversial affair all those years earlier. It quickly becomes hard to understand Elizabeth’s intentions as she further inserts herself into their lives, as she slowly starts speaking like Gracie, as she revisits the places where Gracie and Joe discretely started their inappropriate affair. How far is Elizabeth willing to go to embody Gracie? What lines is she willing to cross?

Elizabeth clearly is okay with working in the gray areas, manipulating these people to get what she wants. Specifically, Joe. There is a heartbreaking scene (one of many) where after an intense moment, Elizabeth remarks: “This is what grownups do.”

It’s a shattering line. And it works in two ways. It emphasizes how emotionally stunted Joe really is. He is no longer a child. But he’s still not a grownup, either. Gracie has emotionally stunted him and stolen his youth. On another level, we also realize that adults – even ones we think are “good” – often manipulate each other to get what they want. Now Elizabeth, in her own way, is taking advantage of him, too.

Haynes often focuses on outsiders who push against or are confined by institutions. And generally, when you think of an outsider pushing against an institution, you think of underdogs or mavericks; social justice advocates trying to buck the system, like in Dark Waters. In May December, Gracie is also an outsider, pushing against the established idea of normalcy. But she’s an outsider because she’s a sexual predator. The institutions, in this case, are there for good reason: to protect children. Haynes inverts this theme, using it to tremendous and compelling effect.

The Golden Globe nominations came out a few days ago, and unsurprisingly, May December was nominated. But surprisingly, it’s been nominated in the comedy category. Everything I wrote probably makes it sound like a serious drama, right? Well, it is. But, believe it or not, it can be quite funny at times, too. Though, I would still be wary of approaching this film as a straight up comedy, or as “camp,” as many out there have been saying. Haynes proudly works in melodrama, evoking his love of Douglas Sirk, and leans into the heightened emotions, the swelling score, and the perfectly on-the-nose music stings – style and techniques that have fallen out of fashion with “serious” movies. Maybe that makes it easier to laugh at, for better or worse.

Unfortunately, there was only one theatrical screening of May December in Santa Barbara. Netflix, the distributor, can be finicky with its theatrical releases. But here’s to hoping that these nominations will give it another run. So while you can watch it on Netflix, keep an eye out for a possible wider release – you never know! But most importantly, just see it. It’s absolutely excellent.