which makes May December What is so interesting is that Elizabeth is not really the villain of the story. Gracie is emotionally disturbed and fragile, but her manipulation of Joe is also palpable. She torments him like her children, and when he questions the origins of their love, she maintains the fact that she was the one who seduced him. when she cries”Who was responsible?”, it finally shows, inadvertently, that it’s always been her. In another scene, he tells Elizabeth that people forget that she has only been with two men in her life, while Joe had other lovers before her. “When he was in fifth grade?” Elizabeth asks skeptically. When the latter receives a tape of a group of skinny, pre-pubescent actors auditioning to play Joe in the film, the horror of his age and inexperience is palpable and makes perfect sense.
May December It is a confusing film
in the hands of Charles Melton, Joe is just as complicated. There’s something almost childish about the way he follows Gracie’s instructions and apologizes for every little mistake, but he’s no angel either. Leaning on his phone from the couch, he appears to be engaged in a romantic affair with a woman close to his own age, even though he knows it will destroy Gracie if she ever finds out. It is only when he is with his children, who bear an uncanny resemblance to his siblings, that he seems at ease. She deserves to be in the running like the two lead actresses – Julian Moore With his volatile and visceral interpretation of Gracie, and Natalie Portman As Elizabeth, who cannot walk without stopping to glance at the mirror and mimics Gracie’s body language and mannerisms.
The offbeat nature of these two acts is crucial to the film’s success, which, under another director’s care, turns it into a light, heavy drama and, at times, a genuinely funny fable. There is something almost Almodóvarian about the opening of the play. The film is also beautifully shot, lingering on the foggy weather and menacing weeping willows dotting the landscape, all while continuing to build tension. About which is most interesting May December, above all his refusal to give easy answers to the thorny questions he asks. As soon as one character in the film provides information that will shed light on Gracie’s behavior, another undermines her. Gracie is lying? How hard is it? The lack of clarity is both worrying and exciting. Even after almost two hours of the film, we wish for more time to examine the characters that compose it.
