May December (2023)
Dir: Todd Haynes
Writers: Samy Burch; Alex Mechanik
Starring: Julianne Moore; Natalie Portman; Charles Melton
Netflix
By Paul Bernardo paulieb2003@gmail.com
May December is an independent film that is garnering a lot of attention because of Julianne Moore’s performance. Along the ride is a great actor Charles Melton who is also nominated for a lot but because he is not a celebrity, no one is really noticing.
Todd Haynes directed this weird little film. This film was in Cannes, and Critics Choice Awards, Gotham Awards, and etc. So it is definitely making the rounds and getting a little bit of word of mouth.
Todd is known for making quirky small films that gain a lot of interest. He did Velvet Goldmine, I’m Not There, Far From Heaven and now this. All gentle, slow, pictures that don’t really keep you at the edge of your seat, but are patient and well done.
That’s the best I can describe this movie. Patient, and well done. It’s not a big twist, it’s not a thriller, and it’s not a rollercoaster.
Natalie Portman plays the lead, and she looks like a 70’s
glamour model. Her character is an actress doing research on her new movie subject, which is Julianne Moore’s character. Julianne creates this character, that is spooky, supportive, lovable, and dangerous. It is quite the feat what she accomplishes here and she deserves all the awards she gets.
May December is slow paced, and deliberate. You can guess what’s going to happen, but you watch anyway to see how they get there.
The writing is so basic and straightforward, the plot isn’t even worth mentioning. The performances here, though, are.
This film is not a character study, and not a comedy or even a drama, as there is no conflict. It’s just a simple study of human behavior. It’s meant to be, I hope it was meant to be, as if someone just turned on their home video camera and shot 90 minutes of footage.
I wouldn’t recommend this film, even if you’re bored. But I do support the actors here who did a tremendous job with what very little they had to work with.
