Director Todd Haynes’ “May December” is a twisty, intriguing psychodrama about Elizabeth (Natalie Portman), an actress, studying Gracie (Julianne Moore) as research for a film she is making about Gracie’s life. Back in 1992, Gracie made tabloid headlines after her affair with Joe — who was a seventh grader at the time — was discovered. Gracie gave birth to their daughter, Honor (Piper Curda), while she was incarcerated, and the scandal still has repercussions two decades later.
The film, which is set in 2015, opens with Elizabeth arriving at Gracie’s home in Savannah where she and her now husband, Joe (Charles Melton), live with their two additional children, twins Mary (Elizabeth Yu) and Charlie (Gabriel Chung). Elizabeth claims she wants to tell Gracie’s story truthfully and sets out to observe and interview Elizabeth, Joe and others, including Elizabeth’s ex-husband Tom (D.W. Moffett); Elizabeth’s other son, Georgie (Cory Michael Smith); Mr. Henderson (Charles Green), the owner of the pet store where Elizabeth and Joe’s affair was discovered; as well as Elizabeth’s lawyer Morris Sperber (Lawrence Arancio). Each of these interviews divulge something about Gracie, and Elizabeth, like the viewer, absorbs it like a sponge.
