New Thing #10: May December

Rounding out the first 10 new things as I try to do at least 240 new things in 2024 is Todd Haynes’s new movie May December.

Before I throw out my two cents, I have to confess that I am a basic moviegoer. I go for plot and character and while I am usually smart enough to pick up on deeper meanings, that’s not my primary focus nor is it something I truly appreciate all that much.
And as a basic moviegoer, I’m also someone who side-eyes a lot of critic reviews. May December may be the perfect example - some of the rave reviews for the film basically amount to people saying, “I’m not sure what it’s about but it is fascinating.” It’s a film in which there’s a lot going on but not much is really happening. It’s a film you almost can’t spoil (but I’ll warn you when potential spoilers are coming.)

To me, the movie felt like a long first act of a murder mystery that ends before the murder happens.

The synopsis of the film is that a Hollywood actress is visiting an infamous couple as she researches for her new movie. The couple gained notoriety when the woman (mid-30’s at the time) was arrested for sleeping with a 13-year-old. 20 or so years later, the woman is out of jail and the couple is married. They have three kids together and tell themselves that they are living a happy life.

!!!SLIGHT SPOILERS MOVING FORWARD!!!

One reason I didn’t really find much in the film is because I don’t think anyone really changed. Natalie Portland’s character comes in as your standard Hollywood star - saying the big house she is staying in is “quaint” and lying to get off the phone with her fiancee - and then we just slowly see just how much of a numb, narcissistic soul sucker she is. But it’s not like she changed over the film, we just got to see more of her, and the more we learn, the less we like her. Julianne Moore played the pedophile and, again, the film is just a case of seeing more and more of what makes her a bad person. We see that her manipulation of her victim-now-husband is ongoing. The final letter that reveals that she absolutely knew what she was doing was wrong didn’t really seem like a reveal unless viewers bought the moment that she said “I am naive” and bought the breakdowns and tears as anything more than manipulations.

Ultimately, to me, it was watching two horrible people and a man in his 30s who almost never grew up or got to have his own life. Even with Henry Melton’s victim character, it’s not like Natalie Portman’s visit is what changed everything; throughout the movie, he’s texting a girl he met online and then says they should go off on vacation together. So it’s not like he’s completely brainwashed or doesn’t seem to want for something more. Something of his own. The fact that he raises butterflies and then lets them go seems like a pretty on-the-nose metaphor for what he wished he could do.

The film throws so much out there - including a campy score and some silly push-ins - that critics seem to give it a pass, assuming that it has something to say. The Wall Street Journal review is, “Any five audience members might have five different takeaways, which tells you there is a lot going on here. I was left with this thought: How well do we really know anyone, even ourselves?” I honestly don’t know how he came away with that thought but I think it might be 100% wrong.

I should end by saying, I didn’t hate the film. It was an entertaining enough watch. It just ended and my main takeaway was that I’d probably never think about that film ever again.