May December
Dustin Chase
If you like sarcastic, campy humor, Todd Haynes’ latest “May December” might be the indie entertainment you have been waiting for. Haynes has never been a “general audience” kind of director. His films are specific, layered, and better enjoyed if you know exactly what he is trying to pull off. For instance, when he collaborated with Julianne Moore in “Far From Heaven” (2002), it was to make a modern interpretation of a film by the master of Technicolor director Douglas Sirk. He would redefine the boundaries of a musical biopic with “I’m Not There,” where everyone from Richard Gere to Cate Blanchett portrayed a version of Bob Dylan. “May December” is one of his most audacious when considering themes, taboos, and his deliberate sarcasm. Debating and working out precisely what the film is saying is half the fun.
It’s been twenty years since the “Pet Shop Romance” rocked the little Tybee Island town off the coast of Georgia. Now happily married, Gracie (Moore) and Joe (Charles Melton) lead everyday lives on the surface. Elizabeth (Natalie Portman), a well-known minor television actress from Hollywood, is researching the role of Gracie for an upcoming film. Graciously welcomed into their home, Elizabeth is allowed full access, asking questions, prying, and eventually flicking the scab off old wounds from everyone associated with the woman imprisoned for her underage affair. Joe, now 36, was the same age as Gracie when they met. The two are preparing for their twins to graduate high school. What begins as innocent research for a film becomes a devastating trip down memory lane for Joe, coming to terms with what he forfeited as a teenager for the first time.
The first camp clue Haynes gives you, three minutes into the movie, is the extreme zoom and dramatic musical cue on Gracie when she opens the fridge and announces, “I don’t think we have enough hot dogs.” The first segments of the film are shot like a story on the cheesy news magazine show “Inside Edition.” It wouldn’t be a Julianne Moore film without some melodramatic crying, and each time Gracie breaks down, once because a cake won’t be eaten, it’s funnier than the last. Gracie also has a lisp, which comes and goes, depending on the scene. However, in one of the many close-up moments, she and Elizabeth are talking to each other while both looking at a mirror; “I am naive,” she says, hitting the lisp hard, “I always have been, in a way, it’s been a gift.” It’s one of the best scenes in the film and certainly one of the most unconventionally hilarious moments of 2023 cinema.
The film enters a more devious gear when Elizabeth takes on some of Gracie’s traits. It’s as if Haynes is constantly asking the viewer who the villain of this story is: the woman meddling or the woman who fell in love with a young boy. Charles Melton (“The Sun is Also a Star” and “Bad Boys For Life”) as Joe exists outside the dueling camp with the female stars. His performance is the emotional beat of the film. In a scene where his 17-year-old son (Gabriel Chung) offers him marijuana, he says, “I’ve never.” At his son’s age, he was already a father of three. Despite how the film is told and presented, it does ask some deep questions that create conversation long after the credits roll. Haynes’ films continue to challenge audiences visually, morally, and philosophically.
Final Thought
Haynes, Moore, and Portman deliver tabloid camp couture.