Director: Todd Haynes | Writer: Samy Burch
Starring: Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, Charles Melton
May December feels like a worse-than-usual episode of a bad soap opera, and that’s being nice. It’s about as bad a movie as Todd Haynes has made, and he’s done some doozies. Velvet Goldmine, Far from Heaven, I’m Not There, Carol, Wonderstruck, Dark Waters; there have been some real gems, mainly Carol, but there have also been some real duds. Well, chalk May December up to the dud category, because this is a movie that simply doesn’t need to be seen.
Elizabeth is an actress on a study assignment for an upcoming role. Her task; come to understand a woman who went to prison for rape so that she can play her in a new film. The woman in question is Gracie, and she had an affair with a young boy who worked with her at a pet store. She got pregnant, went to jail, had the baby, and then had more children with the young man when she got out. They are still married, but the assault of her now-husband is an act that she can never live down. For Elizabeth to understand the why, she’ll have to get too close for comfort.
I don’t understand why Todd Haynes is obsessed with Julianna Moore. She sometimes shines, like in Still Alice, but, I tell you, it is rare. He’s also into Cate Blanchett, so I don’t know what’s going on; again, great actress sometimes, but almost too much on-screen presence to enjoy most often. May December is odd and oddly made; it’s like a soap opera but also a made-for-TV-movie but also a cautionary tale but also Oscar bait? Hard to explain doesn’t begin to explain it. I just don’t see a reason for this film to exist. It’s weird, wrong, and unnecessary, like a tale that you regret hearing and think of as TMI but are forced to listen to anyway. No thanks.
My rating: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆