May December — Review: Solid Filmmaking with an Underwhelming Story
by KJ Proulx
May December is the type of film that advertises itself as something but feels different when you watch it. That’s honestly neither a negative nor positive here because the marketing for this film felt odd. For such a wild storyline, I found myself wondering if anything pivotal or important was ever going to be revealed, but it just wasn’t. I’m perplexed by this film but I would still love to deliver my thoughts. Here is why I both liked and disliked May December all at the same time.
Gracie (Julianne Moore) and her husband Joe (Charles Melton) are living their lives together, after their historic, frowned upon past. She had a child with him back when she was an adult and he was in the seventh grade. Flash forward 20 years and now a film is about to be made about their lives. Elizabeth (Natalie Portman) enters the picture as someone who wishes to study them because she is about to play the role of Gracie in the film. Natalie Portman is easily the standout of this film, as I believe she was acting circles around everyone else. I found Moore’s performance to be good, just a little hollow at times. This was a strange watch for me overall though.
This story can be uncomfortable to watch, especially if you know that it’s loosely based on a real scandal from about 30 years…
