May December Review: A Delicious Melodrama About Humanity And Boundaries [Cannes 2023]
If anyone was going to dramatize the scandalous Mary Kay Letourneau story, it makes sense that it would be "Carol" director Todd Haynes. There's something about the way the filmmaker approaches the stories he is compelled to tell that uniquely positions him to decipher and reinvent what has always felt stranger than fiction. Haynes expertly capitalizes on that strangeness and turns it on its ear, employing it for demented laughs as much as he does for crushing awareness. In his hands, "May December" is all at once an exploration of the human condition and a tightrope line of boundaries uncrossable. Haynes' work positions this new film to be a high-drama Trojan horse filled with self-actualizing horrors, and it's safe to say that the playful yet sobering style the filmmaker uses this time will stick with audiences long past awards season.
"May December" chronicles the aftermath of a tabloid scandal romance in which a 36-year-old woman named Gracie (Julianne Moore) who manages a pet store had an affair with a 13-year-old boy who worked for her. 20 years later, world-renowned actress Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman) travels to Maine to connect with Gracie and her now-husband Joe (Charles Melton) in an effort to study their relationship for a film in which she will play the disgraced woman in the early throes of love.
Relishing in moments of connection
Moore is the star of the show. The legendary actress proves herself legendary once again, this time in a role that holds more weight than many others she's played over the years because of its intricacies. Moore is a chameleon, completely losing herself in the caricature of Gracie, who clearly fancies herself the victim of bad press and even worse vibes throughout the course of a scandal in which she was, obviously, in the wrong. It's always a joy to watch her work, but Moore's connection to Gracie feels deeper than that of any performance she's given thus far. Despite what she's done, Moore understands her and the choices that led her down this path. It leads to some of the most crucial acting Moore has done in her career thus far.
Portman smartly captures the juxtaposition between her celebrity performer persona — someone who is truly dedicated to her craft — and the person Elizabeth needs to be in order to embody both the good and bad of Gracie. Portman is no stranger to difficult, multi-layered parts and regularly takes on roles with a lot of baggage to dig into, but her work as Elizabeth transcends the kind of soul-seeking indictments she's made on past projects. In a lot of ways, Portman's "May December" character is at once judge, jury, and executioner for Gracie, her conscience, and the willingness to face her actions after all this time. The two performers spend the film delightfully at odds, keeping each other at arm's length while relishing in the moments of connection they allow one another. Portman absolutely eats up Samy Burch's script, with one particular monologue alone that should, in a perfect world, get her an Oscar nomination with ease.
High melodrama that gives more than camp
Charles Melton, who rounds out the main cast, gives an understated performance that comes to a head as the film concludes. His willingness to break himself open completely — as both an actor and a character — doesn't go unnoticed, and his capacity for vulnerability is on full display. Though he's made a name for himself on less strenuous projects like "Riverdale," this role proves that Melton has what it takes to tackle stories of this caliber and complexity.
Haynes is on fire here, directing with sharp intensity. There are shades of all of his films in this film, from "Velvet Goldmine" to "Carol" to "Safe." The film bleeds high melodrama with cutting, believable performances that border on camp but contain a bit more emotional depth than camp usually makes space for. Melton's performance only cements that notion, especially considering his award-worthy breakdown in the film's final moments, when he finally reconciles with what was done to him years before.
Strict thresholds for lies, passion, and truth
"May December" gives space for those realizations in the best places, where they are used with strategy to render the greatest possible dramatic effect. That tactic makes those moments stick out that much more — but they also help round out the film's other tonal shifts, which really bring a sense of play to the entire piece. In fact, "May December" comes off utterly Hitchcockian, but makes it a point to lean into the slightly zany comedy Haynes is excellent at despite the frank realities of Gracie and Joe's relationship. Plus, Marcelo Zavros' score adds so much to the film's overall lean into that tone while also doubling down on the intensity of the true nature of the subject matter at hand by way of sound. His manipulation of Michel Legrand's score for Joseph Losey's "The Go-Between" is a smart addition that helps shape the film's tonal baseline.
"May December" is an intricate patchwork quilt of melodrama and stark reality woven into one big blanket of suppression. After all, the film's biggest revelation lies in what we — and by extension, the film's characters — omit in order to keep going. Haynes inquires just how much pressure a human being can take before spilling over, and in this new film, each character has different yet strict thresholds for lies, passion, and truth. Without a shadow of a doubt, "May December" marks a new arrival for Haynes, one where he is consistently flexing his dramatic expertise and cultivating a true flair for the histrionic. At the end of the day, both are needed for the kind of movie Haynes wanted to make to shine — and shine it does, in all its screwed-up glory.
/Film Rating: 8 out of 10