On the surface, May December is a movie about relationships. Loosely based on the Mary Kay Letourneau scandal, the tabloid story of a 36-year-old woman (Gracie) who had an affair with a 13-year-old boy (Joe) is revisited 20 years later when an actress set to play the woman in a movie (Elizabeth) visits the now married couple to learn more about them. The two women have opposing purposes: one seeking to excavate the past and another who has spent two decades endeavoring to bury it. Going in, I expected an exploration of relationship power dynamics, abuse, consent, everything you associated with a story on this subject. Something like Priscilla, an examination of the hows and whys of an imbalanced, age gap relationship. And while these themes were all touched upon, I would say the central idea of this movie is performance.

Who is giving a better performance of Gracie: the woman attempting to play her in a movie or the woman who actually is Gracie? And in Gracie and Joe’s marriage, what is real and what is performance? They look happy together, but their answers and stories seem rehearsed. But is their performance for society’s sake or for their own? After everything they’ve been through, after everything they’ve sacrificed for this relationship, could they even survive without telling themselves that they are still in love? That they always have been? This is another movie that utilizes many shots of mirrors and reflections. These characters all have multiple sides as they’re playing different roles and versions of themselves. Movies, this one and the one Elizabeth is intending to make, are imitations of life. And that is exactly what all of these people are doing: imitating life instead of really living it. 

In a movie about performance, the performances are what make it. Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman are seasoned professionals and are giving capital A Acting performances in this movie. Julianne plays her character with a lisp that is definitely a choice and Natalie’s portrayal of an overly affected actress has viewers questioning how much is the character and how much is Natalie. These characters are so interesting, both on their own and going head to head. Gracie comes across as so childlike with her lisp, fake (or maybe not?) naivety and helpless, relying on her husband Joe for everything but particularly as a pillar of emotional support when she often breaks down. Has she always been this way? Is this really who she is or just part of her act, a way to seem younger and maybe to lessen the appearance of the age gap between herself and Joe? I think her last line in the film tells us everything we need to know about her and maybe about the entire movie: **spoiler here** “Insecure people are very dangerous.”

Elizabeth the actress is possibly more complicated because her intentions are murky. The deeper she dives into the lives of Gracie and Joe, the less her actions feel solely research-based. Her behavior towards Joe and her attitude around all aspects of the movie she’s making start to become concerning, setting off alarm bells to the audience. Is it part of her process in readying herself for the role or is she starting to blur the personal and the professional, losing her sense of where the lines are?

Between these two women going toe to toe in big performances is the man getting the most Oscars buzz from this film, Charles Melton of Riverdale fame. Charles plays Joe, the former teen boy at the center of the scandal and current husband and father. Because I watched Charles on Riverdale for a while, I could really tell how much of a performance this was. This character was so different from who he played on that show in every way, from speaking pattern to body posture to energy to the light in his eyes. For those who have never seen Charles act before, I can see how such a subtle performance might not seem as impressive or like he’s working as hard if you don’t know his range or how different this character was from his past work. Being one of the few who watched Riverdale for more than one season, I feel a personal connection to Charles and am so proud of him and the recognition he’s getting for this movie. I will definitely be rooting for him through awards season! 

His performance as Joe is so quiet and subtle and heartbreaking. He struggles to speak in full sentences and is often awkward, nervous, and detached. He truly, fully embodies a child in a man’s body. A boy who, as a result of trauma, is emotionally stunted and numb and in a state of arrested development. In a disturbing moment, Elizabeth describes Joe as “sexy” and having “quiet confidence”. I’m not sure if that says more about Elizabeth or Joe. Is her perception of him based on her own delusions or the performance he puts on for the outside world? From the picture we’re shown, my money is on the former. Aside from projecting a happy relationship, it doesn’t seem to me like Joe works at all to curate an image of himself as an individual. I actually think that is part of his problem. He doesn’t have an identity outside of his relationship. The one thing he has to himself is the butterflies he breeds and tends to as a hobby. Joe spends his free time watching these caterpillars transform into butterflies, symbolizing a fresh start, a new life, and a world of possibility. He sets them free and then turns back to the life he can’t escape, whether he wants to or not.

May December is a melodrama at its core, very obvious and knowing in its motifs and tone. The score is booming and overdramatic. The symbolism is glaring in a way that makes you feel smart for understanding it so clearly. A too-real, awkward tension permeates every moment. One review referred to it as, “the cinematic equivalent of having dinner at a friend’s house as their parents argue passive-aggressively.” Some have called it “camp”. To me, it feels like a clever soap opera. Everything is over-the-top, but that doesn’t mean there’s not something real or meaningful there. And the tone impressively walks the tightrope of perversity and disrespect. The movie covers a dark subject in a semi-comedic, sensationalized way that doesn’t make light of or downplay the topic at hand. It strangely almost bypasses the issue entirely. The movie isn’t here to tell us whether Gracie is a good person or a bad person or if this situation is morally wrong or not. The answers there are fairly obvious. We can make our own judgments on that. Instead, it pokes at the idea of image. It doesn’t ask us to look at how we see the world but how the world sees us. Does the world see us as we are? Or does it see what we want it to? We’re all just putting on a performance. Some of us are just better at it than others.

I thought this movie was fascinating. It seems like it is going to be more like a true-crime telling of a scandal, with details and reveals, but is really a character study of some deeply flawed people. It is entertaining and funny for inexplicable reasons and uncomfortable and heartbreaking. This movie will definitely be a big part of the upcoming awards race so, if that matters to you, I would keep it on your radar. If not, I still think it’s an interesting watch showcasing some high-level acting.

2023 Count: 30 seasons, 55 movies, 1 special