May December

The movie was not what I expected. The aesthethics and the setting were beautiful and all the lead roles did a good job acting their parts HOWEVER everything else was, to put it mildly, underwhelming. The plotline was flat and didn't offer many surprises. Dramatic music and scenes building up the excitement made me long for some sort of a climax, and it just never came. It was basicly 2 hours of waiting, like smelling delicious food but never getting to taste it. The themes were interesting and important and offered a lot of potential for a great movie. The movie was just simply missing the turning point! All in all, I would not see this movie again.

"May-December" (2023) is the kind of movie that sticks with you. It's the film you find yourself thinking about not just in the days after you've seen it, but when you're lost in thought, all by yourself. It has a way of getting under your skin with its unsettling scenes that can catch you off guard.

Even with its dramatic moments that can feel a bit showy, the film bravely addresses a dark and serious issue that really bites into your sense of ease. It's a gutsy contrast to the film's lighter, sometimes playful moments, but it's a contrast that ends up working really well. The storyline cuts close to the bone, touching on painful childhood issues and awakening emotions and memories that many of us might not have even realized we were suppressing.

In terms of performances, it's Charles Melton who unexpectedly steals the show, bringing a depth to his role in a way that's just mesmerizing. Sure, Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore are incredible, but Melton is the one who truly commands your attention. Take the scene where he just listens to Portman's character - the silent story his face tells is powerful.

Melton's acting is heartfelt and sincere; it's the kind of performance that not only draws you in but also touches you deeply. I've cried during many movies, but this one hit me harder. Seeing Melton portray a man with the naive heart of a child, caught in a complicated, uneven love, moved me to tears of genuine sympathy.

Director Todd Haynes navigates through the film's challenging themes with skill, shining a harsh light on the twisted ways of predators with unsettling realism. He approaches a subject that could easily cause a stir, as it pulls from headlines we've all seen, yet he manages to create a film that's as intellectually stimulating as it is captivating, guiding the audience through an emotional journey with the expertise of a master.

What really stays with me, though, is how the film knows when to call it quits. "May-December" has moments where it feels like it's starting to drag, and I was worried it might lose its way. But then it pulls off something remarkable - it ends right when it should. The film wraps up without any unnecessary fuss, leaving a quiet impact that echoes with you. In a world where movies often overstay their welcome, this one feels refreshingly confident and decisively smart.

In moviemaking, there's subtlety, and then there's subtlety carried too far. In the case of director Todd Haynes's latest, the filmmaker unfortunately indulges himself far too much in the latter. This story of an actress (Natalie Portman) who visits a middle-aged sex offender (Julianne Moore) to prepare for a role she's about to play in a movie about her subject's life never seems to find a footing to stick with and explore. The narrative examines many different aspects of the back story behind the lives of the characters to be portrayed in this pending production without ever really resolving any of them by the time the credits roll. This includes not only the protagonist's reasons for pursuing her once-underage husband (Charles Melton) - actions that got her jailed and made her fodder for countless tawdry tabloid cover stories - but also the nature of the actress's real motivations in conducting such an excessively intense in-depth study of her character. In the process, virtually everyone comes across as somewhat unsavory, and, considering that the truth is never clearly revealed about any of them, it begs the question, why should we care about any of this? The film depicts all of this so subtly that it goes beyond nuance, veering into the realm of enigmatic, thereby further reinforcing the notion of why any of us should care. Ironically, these underplayed elements are in stark contrast to some rather obvious (and terribly trite) symbolism, particularly in images related to themes of transition and transformation. The picture's inconsistent changes in tone don't help, either, vacillating between allegedly serious drama and a seemingly underdeveloped desire to break out as an exercise in full-fledged camp (which, by the way, probably would have made this a much better offering). The script's meandering flow and glacial pacing also don't help, leaving viewers scratching their heads more often than not as to where this story is headed. In the end, all of the foregoing is ultimately quite unfortunate, because there's definite potential in this project, but it's never adequately defined and fleshed out. Leads Moore and (especially) Portman turn in admirable efforts to make this material fly, but they simply don't have enough to work with to make that happen. While there appear to be allusions to themes like the difficulty involved in dealing with long-buried feelings and the fact that we may never be able to adequately grasp the truth behind them (either as outsiders looking in or as active participants in the midst of such dealings), the cryptic handling of those ideas undermines whatever meaningful messages or cinematic value they might have, making all of this seem like just such a big waste of time. Director Haynes has an impressive filmography behind him with such releases as "Poison" (1991), "Far From Heaven" (2002) and "Dark Waters" (2019), but, regrettably, "May December" certainly can't be counted as part of that list.

Before seeing the film I was very curious, I think the story was interesting, along with a renowned director and a very good cast starring Julianne Moore, Natalie Portman and a surprising Charles Melton.

I felt that the film had a lot to exploit with the psychological aspect of the characters, because basically that's where the appeal comes from, an actress who has to analyze the person behind the media character to interpret her.

But I think the script rambles too much and ends up not being very conclusive in all the aspects it tries to cover, its story remains a big what if.

But it's also true, Natalie Portman and Charles Melton were brilliant with their performances, Julianne Moore too. I think it could have been a great movie but it fell short.

I thought it was boring and slow. They kept playing dramatic music like something horrible and shocking was going to happen. But nothing ever did.

I understand it's supposed to be about the Mary Kay Letourneau situation. Indicating it was an unhealthy relationship. And how older women can take unfair advantage of younger men.

I thought technically it was done well. The acting was good. I like Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore. And Charles Melton got a lot of raves on his performance.

But it seemed like this movie never went anywhere. I kept waiting for something to happen. But nothing ever did.

I think viewers will enjoy this movie more, if they know --- going in --- it's supposed to represent the Mary Kay Letourneau situation. Otherwise like me, they may be left holding out their hands as if to ask, "What was that supposed to be?"