May December

I love these condensed, boiled down character studies so much, even if they're told with this level of camp and soap-operatic flair between scenes. It tells such a thematically dark story, but keeps it bubbling under the surface for the entire runtime, only told through brief glimpses and passing conversations between these embroiled characters. Gripping and thoroughly engaging, with a lovely layer of double-speak dialogue and symbolism, May December will leave you feeling disparaged and gross, but also deeply sad and empathetic towards some of the people wrapped up in this morally questionable tale.

-- Incoherent, spoiler-filled ramblings --

Although on the nose, I really did like some of the framing and symbolism woven through this movie. Joe cultivating butterflies, caged and trapped while they are given time to cocoon and transform, a direct metaphor for Joe himself. I like the hope this builds around the character, he's still in chrysallis, all he needs to do is break out of the cocoon he finds himself in, be reborn and start anew.

I really liked the shot of Elizabeth going to see Joe at his place of work. These two people of equal age, but with completely different levels of maturity and posture. One plucked from childhood by Gracie before he's had a chance to grow, still a child in demeanour, shoulders slouched and unable to confidently talk or hold a conversation. The other fully grown, at the top of her respective field, speaking coherently and with projection. It was a very nice way of showing the difference between the two, and how regressed Joe really is after this entire ordeal.

Gracie is shown as a proficient hunter, holding a snake in the reenactment, a predator, only giving off the fascade of innocence and softness to entice and ensnare her prey. We see throughout that she attempts to instill a sense of purity, innocence and childlike maturity to those around her to control and make people do what she wants. It's only when Joe later attempts to speak openly about how he really feels do we finally see the real Gracie. Cutting, manipulative, and immediately on the defensive, blaming those around her with a deft spin. She tells her son from her first marriage to lie about being a victim of incest to try and win sympathy; to give a cosy explanation as to why she is the way that she is while also trying to manipulate his way onto the movies production. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree it seems.

Elizabeth's monologue to the drama class is also very apt and inkeeping with the themes of the movie. Firstly it shows the maturity difference between boys and girls at that age and by extension Joe when he was groomed by Gracie. All the girls in the class are mature, poised, ready to listen, while the boys are all joking around, unserious, immature. Elizabeth talks about actors accidentally becoming one with their characters and scene partners, the line between reality and fiction blurring, becoming one in the same. This directly relates to Gracie, who is playing a character of her own creation, trying to convince everyone she's lovely and innocent when she's really the exact opposite. Controlling, manipulative, sociopathic. We also see Elizabeth fall victim to this as well, growing too close to Gracie and Joe, culminating in her sleeping with the latter. I still can't decide if Elizabeth is just as bad for preying on this couple for her own career, I feel I might need to go back and watch this one again to fully understand how I feel about her.

i felt uncomfortable for 90% of this movie, and the other 10% was me feeling guilty for enjoying the campiness and eccentricity of it, mostly represented by natalie portman's character. she's soooo off-putting. sick and twisted. anyways, charles melton (riverdale's best boy, i miss that goof) is amazing. his scenes are so heartbreaking... you need to run away, boy. just run away :(

Character study at it's finest. Very interesting dynamics between the members of the family and a script that creates a weird circumstance between Portman and Moore's characters that kept me glued to the screen. Strong themes of trauma and morality. ***May December*** poses interesting questions on age gap relationships(?) It has a lot to say and demands a second viewing to get all the symbolisms. I kinda didn't want it to end, that's how interesting I found it.

Filled with visually creative shots like the mirror scene at the beginning with Natalie Portman between two Julianne Moore's, one of my favorites. One of the best scores i've heard this year, nicely done lighting, atmospheric, lots of tension and three awesome performances (favorite was Natalie Portman, I watched that monologue three times). A weird tone for the subject matter that could totally be off-putting for some but for me... it works! I wanted more of a confrontation towards the end, something more memorable, but the character arcs and themes did come full circle and that's satisfying.

an intriguing psychological drama with incredible acting performances. The plot is very dense and is revealed slowly, with some twists and interesting symbolism. The only flaw is the soundtrack which is at times too invasive.

Disturbing and raw. I loved how we got to watch an actress learn her role. She was reckless in the way she sought what she needed. The acting was incredible - really well cast. And the filmography and score were interesting and made sense for this story. Such a scary gray area between what is and is not ok in a sexual relationship that starts so young.

Todd Haynes uses Michel Legrand's music for "The go-between" (1971) as an element that anticipates a certain uneasiness in this story about the past that is avoided and the repercussions of a forbidden relationship. It is a strange decision but one that works particularly well when it introduces elements of unrest into the apparent daily life of a family that faces the past again when a stranger begins to investigate to adapt their story. A very enjoyable cinematographic exercise, which plays with ambiguity to never reveal the truth.

A pretentious C-list actress gets the absurd idea of observing the private life of the woman she's supposed to portray in a biopic. For many viewers, "May December" might be easily dismissed as a chronic case of "much ado about nothing." In reality, the film is scattered with subtexts that are anything but trivial, as it seamlessly paints portraits of characters as realistic as they are inscrutable in all their nuances, spicing everything with a pitch-black yet remarkably subtle cynicism and irony. The more I think about it, the more it fascinates me.

i would cry if i were him

Melton is the star of this, really conveying a man who never got to truly grow up because his childhood was stolen, and how it’s left him a child, a teen, and an adult who’s unable to thrive as any of those things. I enjoyed the dark camp, right down to the music and the audio stings. I think it didn’t hit the crescendo I was hoping for, and neither Portman or Moore quite equal Melton in performance or material. But Melton alone would make this worth the watch.

Interesting character study that provides a lot of nuanced questions and answers. Of course the star of the movie is not the two female leads, even though they are both exceptional, rather the male lead who is kind of left in the middle of everything.