by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
The case of Mary Kay Letourneau became a national story when I was 12. I remember thinking how big of a deal it was, because the thought of a teacher being in a relationship with a student was unthinkable. That didn’t stop a lot of boys my age from thinking the boy was a legend for seducing a teacher, not realizing how wrong the whole situation was. May December challenges a lot of concepts from this story, but adds a few new layers as well, to create a challenging and thought-provoking film that will stick with you after it’s over.
The filmfollows Gracie (Julianne Moore) and Joe (Charles Melton), a couple whose children are about to graduate from high school and leave for college. Their relationship and its story is the subject of a new movie. Actress Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman), cast as Gracie in the movie, arrives in their Georgia town to learn more about their life and attempts to bring her character to life.
May December stuck with me after I was done watching it because of its challenging themes, the most prominent being the nature of abuse, and the vicious power dynamics of an abuser. Gracie is constantly playing the victim and being meek to the point that Joe constantly needs to reassure her that she is a good person, whether it’s by complimenting her baking or taking her criticisms. She plays the victim several times to Joe, which reinforces a cycle that paints him as the person who instigated their relationship. Gracie’s feelings about the start of their relationship are complicated, because she doesn’t feel like she did anything wrong and that she was following Joe’s lead. In her mind, Joe seduced her. The problem with this, though, is that she was in a position of power, while also being married at the time their affair started. There’s also a moment when Elizabeth reads a letter Gracie wrote to Joe that shows she knew what they were doing was wrong.
Moore is terrifying as Gracie. She’s a chameleon of manipulation, and everyone she encounters eventually gets played. Not a lot of performers would be able to play this role. There are so many layers to her performance, because her relationships with everyone she encounters all feel so calculated to make sure she stays on top. Her kids, both with Joe and her ex-husband, take her words hard, because she finds ways to remind them that she’s in charge. Since Gracie’s always had the upper hand with everyone, Elizabeth brings an interesting challenge, because Elizabeth wants to dive deep into Gracie’s mind, and digest everything about her, to portray her better.
Portman does amazing work, and is channels a lot of her role from Black Swan to help with her performance in May December. Elizabeth dives deep into method acting for her role of Gracie. She becomes obsessed with getting the role right, and at times comes off as antagonistic to Gracie and her children. It’s complicated, though, with Elizabeth. On one end, she’s doing her job, and seems like she wants to get the role right for the audience. To me, though, Elizabeth shows how predatory Hollywood can be when it comes to exploiting a story for entertainment purposes. There is an encounter between Joe and Elizabeth at the end, has to remind Elizabeth that this is his life that she’s potentially toying with. It’s an interesting parallel about how Joe is being exploited, not just as a child with Gracie, but also as an adult with Elizabeth.
Although both Moore and Portman are fantastic, Melton stands out as the person doing truly awards-worthy work. I’ve only seen him in Riverdale, but I didn’t think he had this type of performance in him. He balances a fine line between trying to be a good dad and husband, while coming to terms with what happened to him all those years ago. The scene with him and Elizabeth shows how he struggles with his life being on display in a way that won’t be portrayed authentically. Lost with Elizabeth, and Hollywood’s obsession with true crime, is the treatment of the victim, and how the need to take care of the victim is trumped by gaslighting and capitalism. Joe’s breakdown at the end of the film is one of the most heartbreaking scenes of the year. Melton does a phenomenal job of conveying his revelation to Moore, and takes her response like someone who’s been completely deflated.
And yet, through all of the rough subject matter, there are some surprisingly funny moments. Elizabeth tries her best to get every mannerism of Gracie right when putting on makeup, and when Elizabeth is looking at candidates to be Joe in the movie, I laughed at how ridiculously intense Hollywood is with their subject matters. Gracie has several moments where she gives people around her backhanded compliments. She’s constantly gaslighting people, and I nervously laughed through those parts, until she gaslights Joe. Even when Gracie has a meltdown about having some of her cake orders canceled, I can’t help but chuckle at how unbelievably over the top she is.
May December addresses some things that I’ve always found troubling with Hollywood’s treatment of true crime, but it also gave me a lot to think about when it comes to the power dynamics behind abuse and victims being in a perpetual cycle. The performances are outstanding, and this will be up there with some of my favorites of the year.
Rating: Liked It
May December is currently streaming on Netflix
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