Todd Haynes’ critically acclaimed drama “May December” starring Oscar-winners Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, launched at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. And it is now entering the fall award season with a bang and will surely be a hot ticket as a top-tier awards contender (read our review here).
The chance to watch two excellent actresses go toe-to-toe is constantly enticing, and “May December” offers Portman and Moore their best parts in years, and both actresses deliver terrific awards-caliber performances. Also, watch out for the breakout performance from “Riverdale” heartthrob Charles Melton, making his mark for the first time as a serious dramatic actor.
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First-time screenwriter Samy Burch’s screenplay is based on the real-life story of Mary Kay Letourneau, an American school teacher who was jailed on two felony counts for sexual relations with a 12-year-old boy. The film received unanimous praise from Cannes for its sophisticated treatment of the material. Our review called it a “superlative dramedy” with “masterly manipulation of tone and perspective.”
Here’s the synopsis:
Elizabeth (Natalie Portman), a popular television star, has arrived in a tight-knit island community in Savannah. Here, she will be doing intimate research for a new part, ingratiating herself into the lives of Gracie (Julianne Moore), whom she’ll be playing on-screen, and her much younger husband, Joe (Charles Melton), to better understand the psychology and circumstances that more than 20 years ago made them notorious tabloid figures. As Elizabeth attempts to get closer to the family, the uncomfortable facts of their scandal unfurl, causing difficult, long-dormant emotions to resurface.
“May December” begins its fall awards campaign on September 29, 2023, as the opening night film of the New York Film Festival. It is scheduled to be released in select theaters in the United States on November 17 and Netflix on December 8. You can watch the trailer below.
