{"id":27511,"date":"2023-11-30T02:02:55","date_gmt":"2023-11-30T10:02:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=27511"},"modified":"2023-11-30T02:02:55","modified_gmt":"2023-11-30T10:02:55","slug":"may-december-is-sharp-and-compelling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=27511","title":{"rendered":"MAY DECEMBER is Sharp and Compelling"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Running Time:  117 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This feature is currently in limited release at theaters\nand will be available to stream on Netflix everywhere December 1st<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1997, schoolteacher Mary Kay Letourneau found herself all\nover the news after taking part in a romantic relationship with a 12-year-old\nstudent. In fact, their continuing affair resulted in children. Her bizarre\nstory has inspired May December<\/em>, a drama with moments of dark comedy\nthat deals with a very similar scenario. This unusual movie succeeds thanks to\nsome great performances, in addition to the way it deals with aspects of such a\nrelationship that might not initially come to mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The story is set in 2015 and follows actress Elizabeth Berry\n(Natalie Portman), who has been cast in the lead role of an independent film.\nShe is playing the part of Gracie Atherton-Yoo, a married pet-shop employee who\nhad an affair with the 13-year-old schoolmate of her son. After having children\nand divorcing to be with young husband Joe (Charles Melton), Gracie (Julianne\nMoore) invites the performer to their Savannah home. The intention is to show\noff their happy life to the actress. But the charismatic Elizabeth asks many\nquestions and tries to discern who is in control within the relationship. She\nalso probes for opinions from their children, as well as Gracie\u2019s ex and\nchildren from her previous family. As she continues, Elizabeth discovers\nsecrets and even starts to manipulate the pair in order to form her own take on\nthem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Telling the story from the point-of-view of an actress trying to build a character for a film is an interesting and effective storytelling technique that pays dividends here. Both Gracie and Elizabeth are selfish in their pursuits, making for an interesting dynamic. Obviously, Elizabeth\u2019s actions revolve around trying to accurately portray Gracie and earn raves for her own performance. She is willing to do anything to get the pair to trust her and open themselves up. And Gracie comes across as closed-off, showing only what she wants people to see. There\u2019s a palpable tension between the two women that\u2019s consistently exciting to watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The movie does possess an unusual sense of humor that is\ninitially jolting. There are sharp musical stings at odd moments, peppered\nin at the beginning of the film to sound like something out of an over-the-top\nmelodrama. However, one does get used to the tactic and it does earn chuckles\nhere and there. And Elizabeth\u2019s quest for truth does result in some darkly\nfunny and awkward encounters between herself, interview subjects and extended\nfamily members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Of course, as the story progresses things do get darker and\ntake a dramatic turn. One unique element and performance that stands out is\nthat of Melton as husband Joe. As he reveals more and more about his marriage,\nthe performance subtly displays just how out-of-his-element he is as husband\nand father. Both physically and emotionally, he doesn\u2019t seem much older than\nhis own kids who are growing up and are now about to leave the home. This\nreviewer hadn\u2019t really considered finer points of this kind of relationship and\nthe movie does an excellent job of examining the ensuing complications, not to\nmention Joe\u2019s lingering doubts about his future with Gracie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the end, Elizabeth does manage to influence Joe enough to\nreveal exactly who was pulling the strings years ago when the two lovers\ncrossed paths, even if the reveal is only for the benefit of the actress and\nher role in the film adaptation. But there\u2019s a lot to unpack in this movie and\nits aversion to making blunt statements about these individuals makes the story\nand performances intriguing and more revealing. May December<\/em> may be\nabout a subject considered sordid by many, but it provides a sharp and\neffective dissection of a real-life story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Running Time:  117 minutes This feature is currently in limited release at theaters and will be available to stream on Netflix everywhere December 1st. In 1997, schoolteacher Mary Kay Letourneau found herself all over the news after taking part in a romantic relationship with a 12-year-old student. In fact, their continuing affair resulted in children. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":27512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[213,4125,4660,5213,5218,6251,11148,13562,13563,13564,13565,14590,14680,17310,22976,23324],"class_list":["post-27511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-213","tag-charles-melton","tag-comedy","tag-dark-comedy","tag-dark-humor","tag-drama","tag-julianne-moore","tag-may-december","tag-may-december-film-review","tag-may-december-movie-review","tag-may-december-review","tag-natalie-portman","tag-netflix","tag-romance","tag-todd-haynes","tag-true-story-2"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27511"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27511\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}