May December (15)

Dir: Todd Haynes

Cast: Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, Charles Melton

With fantastic central performances and a sensitive subject matter, Todd Haynes’ fact-based melodrama is a daring and discomforting watch

Over the past forty years, Todd Haynes, has established himself as one of the most subversive voices working in the industry. The American writer-director has become known for his provocative works that have seen him become synonymous with new queer cinema. Regardless of subject matter, Haynes continues to destabilise conventional wisdoms surrounding a variety of topics, whether that be: gender and sex, as seen in his films Velvet Goldmine (1998) and Carol (2015); celebrity culture, which is explored in the Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There (2007); and the nuclear American family, Far from Heaven (2002).

For his latest project, ‘May December’, Haynes focuses his attention on not just one of the above themes, but all three. Written by Samy Burch, as her debut feature length screenplay, the film is loosely inspired by the real life public scandal surrounding sex offender, Mary Kay Letourneau. In 1997, a 34-year-old Letourneau was arrested after having sexual interactions with a 12-year-old student, with whom she birthed a child whilst in prison. Upon her release, the affair continued and resulted in the pair becoming married in 2005.

Keeping its distance from the shocking true story it is based, the characters and setting has been changed but the central themes of intimacy and malice are very prevalent. Burch’s screenplay focus on three central characters: Gracie Athertoon-Yoo (Julianne Moore), a social pariah who was, and still is, the subject of public outcry as a result of her predatory involvement with a 13-year-old boy; Joe Athertoon-Yoo (Charles Melton), as the aforementioned boy, now in his thirties and married to Gracie; and Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman), a prominent TV actress who has come to study Gracie in preparation to play her in an upcoming movie.

Elizabeth arrives in Savannah, Georgia, hoping her upcoming role portraying Gracie will be her big break, following on from a successful but much maligned TV show. Gracie has agreed for Elizabeth to follow her during her day to day life in order to give an accurate and sympathetic dramatization of her on the big screen. Knowing that she has been ostracised by the public following her arrest two decades prior, she hopes that by potentially winning Elizabeth over with her loving marriage and domestic lifestyle.

During her stay with the Atherton-Yoos – which happens to coincide with the high school graduation of their teenage twins – Elizabeth begins to mirror Gracie both physically and verbally, to the point where it is borderline impersonation. Every pivotal scene in which the two come face to face, they are centrally framed in the reflection of a mirror, as we see Elizabeth mimic Gracie’s subtle body movements and mannerisms. The B-list actress even goes so far to imitate Gracie’s very notable lisp, she even begins to adopt it herself in front of Gracie, almost subconsciensly. For all her good intentions of getting Gracie’s side of the story across, it is evident that Elizabeth is only out to exploit her.

The real victim and the heart and soul of the story is Joe, brilliantly played by an emerging Charles Melton. Now an adult, Joe has had to deal with collateral damage from all the public and media scrutiny directed towards Gracie all these years. The most recent ‘attack’ being faeces delivered in a box to the couple’s luxurious lakeside home, which is dealt with in a regimented way as if it had been done countless times before. Joe is very much still seen and treated as a child by Gracie, with his wife constantly handing him chores and reminding him that he was the one in control during their unlawful affair years prior, despite his age. Even twenty years later, Gracie refuses to take responsibility for her actions, instead passing them on to her much younger husband whom she has groomed for so many years. Despite being in his mid-thirties, he has never experienced natural adolescence, having his teenage years taken away from him as a result of being a father by the age of thirteen. There is a heart-breaking scene between him and his teenage son, where Joe is reduced to tears as he casts doubt over his bond with his own offspring.

Much like her character in Haynes’ ‘Far from Heaven’, Moore’s performance as Gracie displays all the trappings of a 1950s era housewife. Keeping herself busy with flower arranging and baking, in a bid to escape from the harassment she gets from all of those not close to her. However, this ‘perfect’ suburban lifestyle is not stable, as a still maturing Joe begins to question their relationship despite his admiration for his wife, an admiration that Gracie consistently reminds him of.

Even compared to his previous works, Todd Haynes’ latest film is hard to pin down. It may have some flaws narratively, with some questions being left unanswered, but boasting three of the best central performances of the year, ‘May December’ is a fascinating, ambiguous and occasionally uncomfortable melodrama.

May December is now available on Sky Cinema