2023’s Most Unexpected Horror Film: “May December”
Isabella Bernstein
05.10.2024
This past year, audiences have been graced with good ol’ slasher horror, like “Thanksgiving,” mystery murder horror, like “A Haunting in Venice,” and gaudiest of horror, and like “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” the cheesiest yet most nostalgic of horror. But, a movie that may just take the cake as the most horrific is Todd Haynes’ new drama, “May December.” Following an actress studying a couple for an upcoming movie, Haynes’ nauseating depiction of the aftermath of a scandalous love affair leaves audiences squirming in their skin and wishing they had just watched their comfort movie again instead.
“May December” follows actress Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman) as she researches the life of suburban Gracie (Julianne Moore), a woman who got pregnant during her affair with a seventh grader, Joe (Charles Melton), and remains married to him. Set to play Gracie in an upcoming film about her life, Elizabeth decides to spend time getting to know the infamous story and its even more infamous characters. Elizabeth observes their relationship up close and personal – by living in their town and shadowing them over a series of weeks. She is obsessed with not only perfecting her performance in the upcoming movie, but also with cracking the code of what keeps this unlikely couple so happy and so oblivious to the wreckage of their past. Through speaking with members of their community, their friends, and their estranged family, Elizabeth gains a fuller perspective of Gracie and Joe’s “love story”, as well as who Gracie really is behind her facade of loveliness. Nothing in her investigation, she learns, is without consequence.
As Elizabeth gets closer to Gracie and her family, she sees the hard and manipulative interior that Gracie pads so effortlessly with her warm and inviting exterior, as well as how her hold on Joe has fated him to be a young boy in an adult’s role. Becoming hungrier for more than just observation, Elizabeth finds herself entangled in a web of lust, lies, and very fake smiles with a woman she wants to believe is good, but also wants to prove she is better than. While the two women seemingly are busy having an unspoken and very lady-like pissing match, Joe grapples with the weight of all the decisions he’s made throughout his very short life – or more likely, all the decisions which have been made for him. All of Elizabeth’s poking and prodding lands her, as well as Joe, in some deep water they never imagined themselves in.
The movie is a quiet parade of pastel and “perfect” suburbia, all masking the horrors of one man’s life. Haynes almost distracts you from the truth of the story: Joe is a victim of pedophilia living with and married to his abuser, something the cast of characters seem to be oblivious to.
Unfortunately, not all that glitters is pure gold, as the aesthetics outweigh the story a few times throughout the film. Lackluster, inhuman, and confusing, Moore and Portman’s final scene together lacks depth and clarity necessary for what should be a poignant moment. Many pieces of the movie are left unfinished and seem to be forgotten elements instead of thought provoking questions. Multiple storylines throughout the movie, including Joe’s messaging to another woman about butterflies, as well as Elizabeth’s alluded to affair with some movie executive she speaks with over the phone, seem to be loose ends that Haynes forgets to tie up. Other parts of the movie’s ending are downright confusing. The viewer is left not with the sense that there is more to come, or with the sense that we may need to reflect on ourselves and interpret a deeper meaning, but instead is left with what feels like a ending completed by AI during the writers’ strike while Netflix and other large producers just said, “Ah, fuck it, this will be fine.”
But, while the plot remains to feel unfinished, Melton’s performance is what really leaves you satisfied. With so little dialogue, it's what is unsaid that hits the hardest. From his mannerisms, to his cadence of speech, to his childish posture and boyish smile, Melton finds a way to hit the audience right in the heart without having to overly explain his situation (something which many movies fail at). From him comes the true horror of the movie, as you are slowly distracted from how attractive he is and realize he is still a twelve year old trapped in a grown adult’s body. Moore’s character might play nice, but through Melton’s incredible depiction of a child frozen in time, we are reminded of the monster she really is.
Melton’s performance is like a magic arcade claw grabbing him out of the world of “Riverdale” and other cheesy TV programming, and setting him on the path to success and mainstream recognition – not just by tween girls. He has received high praise for his performance from audiences and critics alike, and was even on the short list for a possible Oscar nomination (sadly, he was snubbed – but don’t worry, Ken could still win!).
