Directed by Todd Haynes
Starring Julianne Moore, Natalie Portman, and Charles Melton

Going into May December, I had many reasons to believe it would reach my lofty hopes and expectations and may even be one of my favourite films by the end of December (not pardoning my clever and deliberate pun!). It is a psychological and complex character drama, which is one of my favourite film genres, starring a couple of my favourite actresses, directed by the man who made romance stunner Carol and underrated gem Wonderstruck, and is loosely inspired by a real-life story.

Instead, May December will go down as one of the more underwhelming films of 2024. A film full of capabilities to exceed not many others can boast that ultimately falls short of being wholly rewarding and satisfying.

Gracie and Joe (played by Julianne Moore and Charles Melton) are a happily married couple who have moved on from the past public controversy that once followed them everywhere. That is until actress Elizabeth Benny (Natalie Portman) arrives at their residence armed with a myriad of questions as part of her preparations to portray Gracie in an upcoming film she is starring in.

The small but significant part of Gracie’s life Elizabeth is reimagining spans less than a handful of years, yet her questions provoke answers into Gracie’s behaviour and personality from long before the scandal that made tabloid headlines happened and interestingly often deviate from being of artistic purposes. This is undoubtedly a key reason for Gracie’s caginess, though her true motivation for supposedly inviting the actress to observe her life and what her intentions are in this are never really clear. As for Elizabeth, her intentions are far more apparent, but I believe the screenplay missed seizing an opportunity or two that would have applied greater substance to the film by the end. May December is at its best when Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman go head-to-head in several scenes. At times, the dialogue and their top-notch performances let play intricate psychological warfare between the two that hits every high mark fans of the genre, filmmaker, and actresses would be seeking. Scenes where Elizabeth questions Joe, which provokes deep introspection from him, are equally compelling. Most of these mentioned scenes in this inconsistently paced and slow-moving film add plenty of psychological intrigue and depth at the time but later struggle to add up to the sum of its parts.

May December is showing in selected cinemas across Australia from February 1st.

Moviedoc thanks Transmission, Miranda Brown Publicity and TM Publicity for the invite to the screening of this film.

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc

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