There are three main characters in May December. Gracie is a middle aged woman who is married to Joe, who she seduced when she was in her 30's and he was 13 years old. Gracie spent time in prison, and had her oldest daughter there. The film is set two decades later, and Joe and Gracie's youngest children are about to leave home for college. The third character is Elizabeth, an actress who is playing Gracie in an indie movie. She visits the family in order to learn about them for her role.
Gracie is played by Julianne Moore, and Natalie Portman plays Elizabeth. Both characters are interesting. Outwardly an aging Southern belle, Gracie is a manipulative monster just under the surface. Elizabeth is willing to lie, cheat, and steal in order to find the truth she needs for her portrayal of Gracie. Most of the film focuses on their relationship.
That was a mistake. The real main character is Joe. He is a quiet, loving father, and at the beginning of the film, he and Gracie get along well. A combination of his kids leaving home and Elizabeth's questions and behavior lead him to reconsider his life. He realizes that all Gracie tells him may not be true, and that he was seriously abused by her.
Joe raises butterflies, and their emergence from their cocoons is a symbol of his emergence from living under Gracie's thumb. The film ends before we find out what Joe will do. He is the most interesting character in the screenplay, and the only one who changes as the story unfolds. It is unfortunate that the editor focused so much of the film's attention on the characters played by the stars.
