Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore are both compulsively watchable stars - and this slow-burn, morally murky drama is the perfect platform for the pair of them to let their acting prowesses shine. In director Todd Hayne’s latest foray into a dysfunctional situation, May December, Natalie plays Elizabeth, an actress who is set to play Julianne’s character Gracie in an upcoming movie, and is visiting the family to learn more about the woman herself and find "truth" in her performance.
And what is Elizabeth's biopic about, do you ask? When Gracie was a 36-year-old married mother-of-two, she had an 'affair' with her now-husband Joe, who was 13 years old at the time. Giving birth to their child in prison, the pair now have a supposedly loving family - despite the children’s evident disdain for their mother, their treatment of their father like he is an older sibling, and Joe’s own complicated feelings towards his wife all lurking beneath the surface.
While the supporting performances, particularly by Charles Melton, who is completely credible as a grown man appearing to be frozen in place at the teenager he was when his situation with Gracie began - this film is all about Natalie and Julianne.
The pair are compelling together as they calmly and quietly engage in a tug of war with who has the upper hand over the other; Elizabeth with her sensuality as she grows more entrenched in her subject’s life, and Gracie with her self-proclaimed naivety, despite revealing herself in moments of razor-sharp perceptiveness.
In fact, it appears that Gracie’s reality is what she makes it, leaving the audience torn over what the real truth of this character, is and what her motivations and her relationships really are - is she as naive as she seems, or a master manipulator?
Despite the very taboo subject matter of abuse, the film is genuinely funny, with the audience laughing out loud more than once at some of the more absurd elements - including a dramatic zoom-in of Julianne proclaiming that they don’t have enough hot dogs for the party.
While I know that May December is a smart, thought-provoking tale into a disturbing subject matter, and certainly keeps you engaged throughout on the depth of Natalie and Julianne’s performances, the ending admittedly left me feeling dissatisfied.
Someone smarter than me might be able to explain how to feel about the movie’s conclusion - but really my only feeling about it was that I didn’t know how to feel.