"May December" is Todd Haynes' seductive puzzle that challenges viewers to unpack moral decisions

Director Todd Haynes’ “May December” is a twisty, intriguing psychodrama about Elizabeth (Natalie Portman), an actress, studying Gracie (Julianne Moore) as research for a film she is making about Gracie’s life. Back in 1992, Gracie made tabloid headlines after her affair with Joe — who was a seventh grader at the time — was discovered. Gracie gave birth to their daughter, Honor (Piper Curda), while she was incarcerated, and the scandal still has repercussions two decades later. 

The film, which is set in 2015, opens with Elizabeth arriving at Gracie’s home in Savannah where she and her now husband, Joe (Charles Melton), live with their two additional children, twins Mary (Elizabeth Yu) and Charlie (Gabriel Chung). Elizabeth claims she wants to tell Gracie’s story truthfully and sets out to observe and interview Elizabeth, Joe and others, including Elizabeth’s ex-husband Tom (D.W. Moffett); Elizabeth’s other son, Georgie (Cory Michael Smith); Mr. Henderson (Charles Green), the owner of the pet store where Elizabeth and Joe’s affair was discovered; as well as Elizabeth’s lawyer Morris Sperber (Lawrence Arancio). Each of these interviews divulge something about Gracie, and Elizabeth, like the viewer, absorbs it like a sponge. 

“May December” is very deliberate in how it doles out information, and what makes the film so captivating is that each scene presents something that may or may not be true. As Elizabeth asks questions of Gracie, she is fishing for insights into her character — and Gracie may be withholding or even misdirecting. How much should (or would) Gracie reveal to someone recreating the most fraught episode of her life, and why would she agree to this? Does Gracie really have no shame, guilt or regret about her past actions as Elizabeth suspects? Is Gracie as naïve as she claims to be? And how is Joe processing an event that robbed him of his adolescence? Viewers get to determine what is fact and what is fiction, and the lines are distinctly blurred. 

Truth becomes knottier as Elizabeth digs deeper. Georgie floats some information that shifts Elizabeth’s perspective on her subject. Joe gives Elizabeth a letter Gracie wrote him that may be useful in understanding her character. Elizabeth gets excited by all she uncovers, but is she enthralled by the material or the role of a lifetime? Her motivation is slippery at best. 

That said, it is the scenes that Elizabeth is not privy to — Gracie experiencing despair when she loses a client from her cake business, or Joe’s efforts to talk with Gracie about their past — that reveal the real Gracie and Joe. A scene of Gracie complaining about Joe climbing into bed smelling like smoke from a cookout they had explains their relationship clearly; she is the one in control, and he is subservient to her. That is likely how it has always been since they met, and Elizabeth’s arrival will rock that possibly shaky foundation.

Haynes, working from a script by Samy Burch, makes sure to create unease and uncertainty in every scene, and he uses Marcelo Zarvos’ score (a reworking of Michel Legrand’s film music for “The Go-Between”) brilliantly to establish a sinister mood. The filmmaker also uses mirrors to reflect not just Elizabeth and Gracie sizing each other up, but also to play with their similarities and differences. A scene where Gracie applies her makeup to Elizabeth’s face is terrific — especially since it gives Gracie an opportunity to turn the tables and probe Elizabeth about her life for a change. 

Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore in "May December" (Netflix)

“May December” pivots on who is seducing or manipulating whom, which plays out through the final scene. Elizabeth is determined to get what she wants, and underneath her polite exterior may have too few boundaries. She is certainly looking to gain the trust of Gracie and her family. An interesting scene has her patiently answering questions, including one about filming sex scenes, at Mary’s high school theater class. But the class interaction also forces Elizabeth to reveal why she would want to play Gracie, and her answer upsets Mary. Likewise, when Elizabeth flirts with Joe — to understand Gracie’s character, of course — she must know she is crossing a line.

In contrast, Gracie becomes more, not less enigmatic as the film unfolds. Watching her body shame her children while dress shopping with Mary or justify giving Honor a scale as a gift is awkward and darkly comic. These scenes emphasize Gracie’s calculating nature, and it is fun to see her exposing herself like this for Elizabeth’s “benefit” as the actress is always nearby. Gracie’s predatory nature certainly extends to how she treats Elizabeth.

Haynes doesn’t build “May December” to a big crescendo. His approach is more organic, allowing a handful of significant dramatic and emotional moments to occur as the characters interact. As such, he has the three very strong performances from his leads propel the film. 

Portman does exceptional work as Elizabeth, a woman whose efforts to mimic her subject are fascinating. Seeing Elizabeth “performing” Gracie in the throes of ecstasy in the pet shop storeroom is uncomfortable, because the reality of that moment likely had a completely different tone. 

And Julianne Moore is outstanding as Gracie, a woman whose fragility is masked by her otherwise self-assured demeanor. When Gracie drops the mask and admits to Joe that Elizabeth is getting on her nerves, it shows that Gracie is just as flowing with fake sincerity as Elizabeth is. 

In a breakout role, Charles Melton delivers a superb performance as Joe, a man who is unexpectedly forced to confront the ripple effects of his past. Scenes of him having heart-to-heart chats with his son Charlie or Elizabeth or Gracie are poignant and quietly powerful. However, a subplot about him raising monarch butterflies seems a bit heavy-handed. 

In support, Cory Michael Smith dazzles with his anxious, kinetic energy in his few scenes as Georgie.

Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.

“May December” is designed as a puzzle, and it asks viewers to unpack the moral decisions and consequences of a scandal from a distance. That Haynes gets at these characters in a way that Elizabeth only hopes to, is what makes the film so wickedly entertaining. Elizabeth acts as a catalyst for all the drama that occurs, and the actress may not so secretly delight in intentionally causing trouble. She unwittingly brings a box containing feces to Gracie on her first visit, a sign of her s**t-shirring nature. But the pleasure of this film is watching how Gracie responds and reacts to this interloper. Seeing Portman and Moore kill each other with kindness is why “May December” is so delicious.  

“May December” is now playing in select theaters. It streams on Netflix Dec. 1.