May DecemberEvery news story, every movie, every tabloid, every online post--all of these are inherently voyeuristic because we take part in viewing them, justifying their existence. We view our world through the lens of our own perception. We endorse exploitation of provocative content, just as how we crane our necks while driving down the highway at a smash-up, or gather around to witness a train wreck or the controlled burn of a home. "Based on a true story" is deliberately designed to engage audiences by insinuating that it will deliver a "so crazy, it's true" tale of woe. And all of us gather around, like kids on a playground, chanting, "fight! fight!", to see what happens next when the kid who gets kicked around by the bullies has finally had enough. May December is loosely based on a true story, and it points an accusatory finger back at us for finding entertainment in the abuse and suffering of others, no matter their walks of life.
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Directed by Todd Haynes, with a screenplay by Samy Burch, May December is heavily inspired by the story of Mary Kay Letourneau, a sex offender convicted of the statutory rape of her sixth-grade student, Vili Fualaau, who later became her husband. A strange story, and prime tabloid material; so of course it would inspire dramatizations! What May December does differently, however, is cast its incriminating gaze back at those who would exploit these tragedies for personal gain, and those who delight in such stories of sorrow. Enter Elizabeth (Natalie Portman), a Hollywood actress preparing for her role in portraying this film's surrogate for Letourneau, Gracie Atherton-Yoo (Julianne Moore), in an upcoming independent picture. (Spoilers forthcoming, dear readers.) Elizabeth shows up at Gracie's home--which she shares with her husband and victim, Joe Yoo (Charles Melton)--to "observe" their domesticity. Before long, Elizabeth begins ingratiating herself into their lives--to the frustration of Gracie and Joe's teenage children, who see her parasitic presence for what it is. And as the story progresses, May December performs the challenging (yet expected) turn of making Elizabeth into a greater monster than the child rapist. Elizabeth is so thoroughly corrupt that she is willing to fracture the relationship (such as it is) between Joe and Gracie for the sake of her own performance. From the start, Elizabeth carries herself with a superior air, pretending to be nothing but a passive observer. Before she arrives, Gracie half-jokes about Elizabeth arriving in her "big Hollywood sunglasses", and the punchline is that she does just that. She interviews Gracie's ex-husband, Tom (D. W. Moffett), without asking Gracie--sowing discord, possibly intentionally--and then investigates the pet shop where Gracie and Joe were caught in the act decades past, pantomiming the sexual experience in the back room in private. But wait, there's more! Elizabeth carries on phone conversations both insinuating that she is having an affair with her director--despite being engaged--and comments that the teenage actors supposed to portray Joe aren't sexy enough. She even proceeds to outright seduce Joe for the sake of method acting. By the end of the movie, there's no doubt that Elizabeth is a complete narcissist and sociopath. The stinger? The movie that she makes is as cheap and tawdry as a similar one made about Gracie and Joe earlier. This is no great actress--just another egomaniac all too comfortable wreaking havoc to further her own depraved ambitions.
So...how does Elizabeth compare to Gracie, then? Well, it would be easy to vilify Gracie solely on the basis of her prior crime. Instead, May December portrays Gracie largely as an overbearing mother-figure to Joe, and both of them exist in a state of emotional arrested development. Gracie has a surprising lack of tact, and Joe preoccupies himself with a butterfly collection. Joe has already begun reconsidering whether he's truly happy being with Gracie, or if--as he finally puts it--that they're only acting like they're "supposed to be in love". There's unresolved baggage for both of them which Elizabeth's arrival forces into the forefront. Nevertheless, it would be easy for May December to descend into cheap melodrama. Instead, it really is a hybrid between a scathing condemnation of media exploitation and an examination of a relationship finally collapsing on itself because its foundation was flawed from the start. Haynes does commit the cinematic cardinal sin of having Joe's texts to a fellow monarch butterfly enthusiast presented as on-screen subtitles--which is completely pointless--but this still represents one of many instances where it's clear that Gracie and Joe have only stayed together because of their shared responsibilities as parents. There's no real love here; in fact, it's all to evident that Gracie exploited Joe at a young age, despite her protestations that he seduced her. It's not a stretch to say that Joe was a victim, but what May December explores is what was the extent of the victimization. There is a great sadness at work in the film--not just for Gracie and Joe, but the entire community involved. Gracie's child from her former marriage, Georgie (Cory Michael Smith), has turned into a cynical scumbag; can this be blamed on Gracie, or what this predestined? Gracie's lawyer (and erstwhile neighbor) explains that Gracie is being cared for by the community, many of whom often buy the homemade bakery she sells, despite no one needing it, just to keep her stable. It's a kindness and also a form of enabling, as though no one truly knows how to reconcile the events of the past and move on. Elizabeth may be an agent of change, but this is incidental to her own selfish desires. The film occasionally indulges in a sly nod to the audience, from its obviously hammy, over-dramatic musical score to pointed nods to arthouse film classics, like Ingmar Bergman's Persona. All of these touches help form the foundation of a thoughtful meditation on the strange juxtaposition that all of us foster every time we indulge in these tabloid tales: that weird mix of entertainment and scandal.
Recommended for: Fans of a compelling and thought-provoking drama that should invite self-examination regarding what information we take in under the guise of entertainment or news and why. May December gets its name from a twist on a "May/November" relationship, where the age difference between the two people is vastly different, to the point that it raises concerns about propriety. It is a pointed title for a pointed film, one that inquires about our attitudes toward taboo sexuality, and should rightly raise more questions about it than it answers.
So...how does Elizabeth compare to Gracie, then? Well, it would be easy to vilify Gracie solely on the basis of her prior crime. Instead, May December portrays Gracie largely as an overbearing mother-figure to Joe, and both of them exist in a state of emotional arrested development. Gracie has a surprising lack of tact, and Joe preoccupies himself with a butterfly collection. Joe has already begun reconsidering whether he's truly happy being with Gracie, or if--as he finally puts it--that they're only acting like they're "supposed to be in love". There's unresolved baggage for both of them which Elizabeth's arrival forces into the forefront. Nevertheless, it would be easy for May December to descend into cheap melodrama. Instead, it really is a hybrid between a scathing condemnation of media exploitation and an examination of a relationship finally collapsing on itself because its foundation was flawed from the start. Haynes does commit the cinematic cardinal sin of having Joe's texts to a fellow monarch butterfly enthusiast presented as on-screen subtitles--which is completely pointless--but this still represents one of many instances where it's clear that Gracie and Joe have only stayed together because of their shared responsibilities as parents. There's no real love here; in fact, it's all to evident that Gracie exploited Joe at a young age, despite her protestations that he seduced her. It's not a stretch to say that Joe was a victim, but what May December explores is what was the extent of the victimization. There is a great sadness at work in the film--not just for Gracie and Joe, but the entire community involved. Gracie's child from her former marriage, Georgie (Cory Michael Smith), has turned into a cynical scumbag; can this be blamed on Gracie, or what this predestined? Gracie's lawyer (and erstwhile neighbor) explains that Gracie is being cared for by the community, many of whom often buy the homemade bakery she sells, despite no one needing it, just to keep her stable. It's a kindness and also a form of enabling, as though no one truly knows how to reconcile the events of the past and move on. Elizabeth may be an agent of change, but this is incidental to her own selfish desires. The film occasionally indulges in a sly nod to the audience, from its obviously hammy, over-dramatic musical score to pointed nods to arthouse film classics, like Ingmar Bergman's Persona. All of these touches help form the foundation of a thoughtful meditation on the strange juxtaposition that all of us foster every time we indulge in these tabloid tales: that weird mix of entertainment and scandal.
Recommended for: Fans of a compelling and thought-provoking drama that should invite self-examination regarding what information we take in under the guise of entertainment or news and why. May December gets its name from a twist on a "May/November" relationship, where the age difference between the two people is vastly different, to the point that it raises concerns about propriety. It is a pointed title for a pointed film, one that inquires about our attitudes toward taboo sexuality, and should rightly raise more questions about it than it answers.