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This new film directed by Todd Haynes (Safe, Far from Heaven, Carol) takes another uncomfortable look into the darker side of American suburbia, and as expected, it never holds back with its punches. But given the nature of how a story was covered by the tabloids when something similar had broke out, what makes a film like May December feel like it’s working its way under your skin. Even then, I think the brilliance of Todd Haynes’s approach to telling this story comes forth in knowing that the gravity of what has actually happened cannot properly be understood by tabloid conversation let alone art about the matter; so in a sense, it ends up becoming a clever film about its own making.

Inspired by the story of the Mary Kay Letourneau case, May December tells a story centered around the young actress Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman), who plans to research her role in a film based around Gracie Atherton-Yoo (Julianne Moore). In doing so, she finds herself getting to know Gracie personally, together with her relationship with the much younger Joe Yoo (Charles Melton), with whom she has been married for twenty-three years following a scandal in which the then-36 Gracie was caught having sex with a then-13 Joe. Everything almost seems ordinary, because the two of them now have three children together and are out of the limelight, but Elizabeth’s presence opens the cracks for this unorthodox relationship all the more.

From the moment we first are introduced to the Atherton-Yoo family, the circumstances seeming so ordinary become extremely unnerving. Gracie is presented like a motherly figure, because that’s also how the young Joe had seen her for so many years, even as it led into their marriage which had made tabloids. That’s also where May December finds its greatest successes, for it seeks to go beyond completely one-sided conversations in order to delve into the mindset of someone who saw these tragic circumstances as being completely normal for most of their life. All this is brilliantly told through a commentary about the industry that glamourized such a lifestyle for so long, especially as it makes you feel like you’re witnessing art being made about what could reasonably be considered as crossing ethical boundaries.

But it’s clear to Todd Haynes and company that there’s still fun to be had with the making of such a film, especially when it’s going to find a manner of telling on the viewers too. All this is felt in the nature of the relationship between Gracie and Joe, but Haynes succeeds ultimately in ensuring that this story is one that falls in Joe’s favour, understanding what it feels like for him to have been a victim of grooming – especially as Elizabeth ends up taking charge as the disruptive force between a seemingly normal family dynamic. Knowing how old Gracie and Joe’s children are by the time the film starts also gives us a perfect sense of insight into the damage that had been done by the nature of their relationship, but it also speaks to how their growth has ultimately been inhibited by people who would invade on their privacy minute by minute.

Career-best work from Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore comes by in May December, in maybe some of the most complicated roles of their career. Moore, having collaborated with Haynes many times in the past (particularly in Safe and Far from Heaven) delivers a complicated performance as the highly damaged Gracie Atherton-Yoo, perhaps utilizing the sensitivity that we’d associated with her roles in the past to play a truly predatory figure – and in turn, it becomes maybe one of her most frightening roles to date. But a star-making turn is to be found in Charles Melton (whom many would know from Riverdale), who excels in a highly tragic role as the highly confused Joe Yoo, who for many years had been made to think that everything around him was simply normal. In giving a sense of humanity to that confusion, what we are seeing in May December from him might be the perfect picture of the restlessness coming forth in trying to make sense out of everything happening.

But every moment of this movie that’s incredibly harrowing shows that there’s no simple answer for how one can tell a story like this to the screen. With Haynes choosing to frame this through a story about an actress trying to establish a big break through telling a story inspired by the Mary Kay Letourneau case to the screen, it feels like we’re made to understand how the entertainment industry would only fuel tabloids and speculation to the point of crossing an ethical boundary. And that’s where the brilliance of May December lies, it’s not from knowing the answer but showing how little we can truly know about what’s actually going on behind the scenes.

Watch the trailer right here.

All images via Netflix.

Directed by Todd Haynes
Screenplay by Samy Burch
Produced by Natalie Portman, Sophie Mas, Christine Vachon, Pamela Koffler, Grant S. Johnson, Tyler W. Konney, Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell
Starring Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, Charles Melton, Cory Michael Smith, D. W. Moffett
Release Date: December 1, 2023
Running Time: 117 minutes