Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, a married couple buckles under pressure when an actress arrives to do research for a film about their past.
Chuck says:
I’m not really sure what to make of Todd Haynes’ “May December.” Netflix has put forth the film and its performances in the comedy/musical categories for this year’s Golden Globes Awards. I’m sometimes not the sharpest tack in the box, so I watched the film a second time, just to see if I missed something the first time around. I hate to say that I didn’t laugh once during the first or second viewing of this fact-based drama of the Mary Kay Letourneau-Vili Fualaau child sexual abuse scandal. Now I understand that comedy is subjective but claiming a movie based on this subject is funny is misguided and offensive.
In the long run, Netflix’s strategy to gather up as much awards booty doesn’t really speak to the quality of the movie. Yet, I bring it up because I think its major flaw is its lack of a consistent tone. Is this supposed to be a parody of overwrought TV movies and telenovelas? It does have aspects of that at times. Is it an examination of psychosis in its various forms? It certainly is that but is undercut by its flippant portrayal of this behavior.
What emerges is a dual character study of obsessive women who are blind to the realities of the world around them, and as effective as that is, thanks in large part to the work of the film’s two leads, it fails to stick the ending because of Haynes nebulous approach and tone.
Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman) comes to Savannah, Georgia to visit Gracie Atherton-Yoo (Julianne Moore) and her family. A Method actress, she’s doing research for a film in which she will portray her host who was sent to jail for having an affair with a 7th grader when she was 35 years old. Having married and had three children together, the couple seems happy, though we are privy to cracks in this façade. The husband, Joe (Charles Melton), is coming to the realization that for years he’s been manipulated by Gracie. These thoughts take deeper root as Elizabeth starts to probe the couples’ past and ingratiate herself into their lives.
The script by Samy Burch is very good, taking on a great many issues in an intelligent, layered fashion. Each of the three principals wear false faces which are chipped away at as the film progresses. As Elizabeth’s movie star persona, Gracie’s domestic mother guise, and Joe’s dutiful husband/father front each melt away, what we’re left with are three incredibly damaged people, each struggling to maintain their sanity in a world they refuse, or are unable, to be a part of.
Of course, these are roles actors kill for and each of the leads accord themselves handsomely. Portman is sly in presenting the way Elizabeth seduces others with her star wattage, all the while feigning modesty, constantly observing to find ways to manipulate her prey further. Her devotion to the Method Acting approach would make Stanislavski blush. Moore manages to subtly create a suburban monster, her insecure Gracie fully aware that her past actions were inappropriate but assuming a sense of naivete she thinks excuses her actions. However, she maintains an iron grip on Joe, cruelly skewing his sense of reality. Melton proves to be the revelation here, the actor using a deft touch to bring his character’s sense of confusion and frustration to life. The pain in his eyes as he struggles to be the husband and father he thinks he should be, unequipped to do so having never been allowed to mature into adulthood, is palpable.
These performances are what make us hang on, eager to see just where Haynes will lead us. It’s no news that appearances are deceiving, that “insecure people are very dangerous” as Gracie says and that the media in all its forms will exploit others’ tragedies. What with the talent connected to “May December” I suppose my expectations were too high. And while Haynes successfully updates his Douglas Sirkian-gaze by examining a modern version of domestic angst, I expected something more than just a restating of the obvious.
2 1/2 Stars
Pam says
“May December” is a fictionalized tale inspired by the 1990’s sensationalized headlines of Mary Kay Letourneau’s affair with her 12 year-old student, Vili Fualaau. Imprisoned and giving birth to the daughter Faulaau fathered, the two later married and had a total of three children. The film’s story uses this background and begins its own story as Todd Haynes (“Dark Waters” 2019, “Carol” 2015) directs Natalie Portman as Elizabeth, a famous actress taking on the role of Gracie Atherton-Yoo, the Mary Kay-inspired character portrayed by Julianne Moore, in an upcoming independent film. Insinuating herself into the outwardly “normal” family for a period of time, Elizabeth brings the past to the forefront, pushing both Joe Yoo (Charles Melton), Gracie’s husband, and their children to question Gracie’s morality.
It’s difficult not to watch this film with absolute disgust as we fully understand that Gracie took her position of power as a teacher and wielded it over Joe as a child, seducing him and forever changing (damaging?) his psyche and his future. Bearing this in mind, it’s also quite a riveting psychological story of confronting societal mores and norms as well as looking in the mirror to truly see oneself. And this is what becomes most interesting as Elizabeth begins to take on the physical and psychological mannerisms of the woman she is studying…to a disturbing degree.
The family dynamics, initially appearing like any other family, slowly devolves as the high-school and college aged kids, older now than their father when he had them, discuss their futures. Joe begins to tear down his own protective layers as he sees his children grow, the protective nature of a father reflecting back on his own past. It’s a devastating look into who Joe was, is, and perhaps should have been.
Equally captivating is Gracie’s immaturity and lack of grasp with reality and her past. Initially attempting to befriend the famous actress in the hopes that she will portray Gracie favorably, it’s obvious that she is threatened and begins to unravel. Guilt, however, is not a part of that spiraling.
What’s the message here if there is one at all? Is it that Hollywood and tabloids thrive on sordid stories like this? If so, there’s a meta aspect as “May December” capitalizes on it. Whether or not there is a message here is up to you, the viewer, but no one can deny the outstanding performances of all the actors. Moore is always up to any role and finds the right notes to play this out-of-touch 50-something year old who takes zero responsibility for what she did. She creates a credible character who is somehow naive but has an exterior made of armor. Mirroring the subtleties of Moore’s character is Portman as she finds the smallest of details to bring her less-than moralistically upstanding character to life. Portman fully understands the underbelly of Hollywood and the lengths an actor will go to in order to stand out in the industry. Our connection and emotional investment with Portman’s Elizabeth waxes and wanes throughout the tale until the bitter end. Melton’s Joe Yoo is equally evocative as we understand his heartbreaking life story thus far, hoping that his future might be a brighter one. His innocence was taken by Gracie a lifetime ago, but there remains an element of childlike trust confirming that he never really had a chance to grow up.
“May December” is unfortunately a familiar story and while this particular one may have been ripped from the headlines, it’s a story that happens much too often. Make no mistake, this is not a comedy as it is being touted; it is an abhorrent display of the world around us even as the cast eloquently and skillfully portrays a true-life inspired story of a pedophiliac.
2 1/2 Stars
