“May December” (Netflix) Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla) #MayDecemberNetflix
Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, Gracie Atherton-Yu and her husband Joe (twenty-three years her junior) brace themselves for their twins to graduate from high school. When Hollywood actress Elizabeth Berry comes to spend time with the family to better understand Gracie, who she will be playing in a film, family dynamics unravel under the pressure of the outside gaze. Joe, never having processed what happened in his youth, starts to confront the reality of life as an empty-nester at thirty-six. As Elizabeth and Gracie study each other, the similarities and differences between the two women begin to ebb and flow. Set in picturesque and comfortable Savannah, Georgia, May December is an exploration of truth, storytelling, and the difficulties (or impossibility) of fully understanding another person.
When this movie premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in the summer of this year, I have to admit that what drew me to watching this movie was the duo of Natalie Portman and Julianna Moore, I had zero knowledge of what the story was about, and the buzz around their performances is what spark my interested. Fast forward to late this year with awards season gear up and the minute Netflix granted me access to a screener, I hit not only to be completely blown away by their performances, but also the story or more importantly the way writer Samy Burch and director Todd Haynes had me in awe with my jaw on the floor given the complexity of it, and the source material. With a score that just added another level of tension to it all.
Story-wise I was blown away by the story I had truly zero knowledge of, and it had me thinking that this a movie that proves Hollywood is still capable of producing original or adapted stories that immerse you in it regardless of how complicated or controversial de topic in hand is. I commend the work of the writer, director, and producer of this movie tried to make given its complex and controversial story, and how they managed to turn this story into basically “the making of” a full feature film of the story that is being told. The story of a teacher having a relationship with a student who’s also minor is no easy task to tackle given the many level of issues this topic brings to the table. Yet I was in awe and glued to my screen as the story played out with Natalie Portman’s character trying to learn as much as she can for the person she is trying to rephrase in the movie by basically studying and mimicking everything personal aspect and even her emotions or needs to get in full character. The way the story played out is truly a testament to Hollywood and its available to still produce masterful, character-driven, thought-provoking storytelling. And If I needed to reason to recommend this movie the story alone is worth watching.
Performance-wise I must completely agree with the buzzing regarding Natalie Portman’s and Julianna Moore’s performances. In my opinion, this is Natalie Portman’s best performance since “Black Swann” and its a jaw-dropping performance as you see her transform the character she in in the movie with the character she was to being in the movie being told. This was the performance within the performance that had me glued to my screen throughout the very last scene. Julianna Moore did an amazing job projecting the role of the teacher that had a relationship with his minor student, and how their story came about after the news came out. I loved how she truly wanted Natalie Portman’s character to study her, I loved how she portrayed the character with zero care in the world as if everything that happened was ok, Julianna Moore nailed the role and Gracie Atherton-Yoo was all about.
While I do agree the subject matter in hand beeing controversial enough to set this movie aside, I do believe that the producers, writer and director did a masterful job a telling this story with a lot of class and care being that happen. The movie within the movie aspect of it made it a unique take on how it all came about, and the performances by our to lady leads are well worth the price of admission either for their theatrical run or a watch on streaming when it finally hits Netflix.
