MAY DECEMBER Movie Review | Natalie Portman | Julianne Moore | Todd Haynes
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- Опубликовано: 27 ноя 2023
- This one is a strong candidate for our year-end best-of lists. Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore have an intense, prickly chemistry in "May December," the latest from veteran indie filmmaker Todd Haynes. Charles Melton co-stars in the dramedy, which has echoes of the Mary Kay LeTourneau scandal. Written by Samy Birch and Alex Mechanik. Co-starring Cory Michael Smith, Gabriel Chung and Elizabeth Yu. In theaters now, streaming on Netflix starting Dec. 1.
#natalieportman #juliannemoore #charlesmelton
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So happy to find your channel. I thought intelligent movie criticism was dead until I found you guys.
Delighted you found us too, thank you!
These guys are delightful, and you can also rely on Dan Murrell and Chris Stuckman. They’ve been trustworthy RUclips “critics” for years, always fair and insightful
@@mateo6482 Thank you!
And Mark Kermode!
Julianne Moore was so unbelievably creepy in that movie. It left me with a feeling of melancholy or something similar. The sadness she visited on those around her, manipulating them to participate in her weird world. "Not that kind of snake" for sure. Natalie Portman's character highlighted and magnified the quiet despair of this sick situation.
So glad you enjoyed it too, and yes, it definitely does linger!
I found Portmans character the most interesting. This could work almost as a counterpart to Black Swan in the mirroring and transforming.
Ooh yes, good call!
@BreakfastAllDay Vili was in 6th grade age 12 almost 13 years old when the affair started with him and Mary kay letourneau started in June 1996
I saw this movie a week ago, and I can't stop thinking about it. There's so much in there to peel back and the performances are stellar! It's fascinating and award worthy!
Word.
Same. I will be watching it again.
I took an edible before going to see this and I gotta be honest I don't think it was the brightest idea I've had
Hmm, maybe not ... 😆
🤣🤣🤣
My fav movie of the year. As much as I liked Oppenheimer and Flower Moon, this is just pure art at half the running time. So much to unpack. Best screenplay win, I hope! Also, nominations for Moore and Portman and the guy who plays Moore's husband, please, please, please!
U don hv past lives in your list?
@@abhiezibran9654 I tried watching that, but it was too boring for me, tbh.
Natalie Portman is spectacular in this
That was her career performance! 😭😭
Todd Haynes has been a top tier director in my estimation so your review of his latest has me really interested. He does seem to like and explore themes and areas that go under looked. I'm glad Christy mentioned the cinematography. I had wondered how handsome it would look given that Ed Lachman had to drop out of this project at the last minute and his partnership with Haynes has given some beautiful images and sights. A shame this is going to Netflix as they seem to purchase everything and then bury it under the metric ton of content.
I’ve been really looking forward to y’all’s review of this! I loved it so much
I loved this movie, thought about it for days. I’m also really glad you two are still reviewing movies together after all these years, I love your work
Thank you so much for the extremely kind words and for sticking with us all this time!
Well, that was all we needed to get us in, and we were already primed, given the talents involved. Woohoo, hoorah, hopla. As ever, Christy and Alonso, thanks for your nonpareil cinematic guidance. ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Hi there Christy & Alonso, loved your review. We saw this tonight. Yikes, so emotionally difficult and such a challenging watch. We adored it. I've seen just about everything Todd Haynes ever filmed. This will challenge my top 10 of 2023 as well. Thank you so much. BTW - Special mention to whoever did the titles.
Thank for your thoughts Rob! We love Todd Haynes too, Alonso especially.
Yes, just watched, I loved the titles too
I was glad you mentioned the score, cause the video was almost over and I was like “gotta talk about that” and you both delivered like usual!
It adds just the right amount of melodrama, but it's also legitimately suspenseful!
Yes!
Watch “The Go-between”
Great review! I love when you guys get excited about a film.
Ohh, I am obsessed with the score for "The Go-Between." Great reference from Christy!
Really enjoyed it. Christy I’m glad you mentioned the “hazy and gauzy” beauty of how it was shot.
I watched at home and couldn’t tell if it was intentional or if my Netflix was buffering.
Ha, no, it's a choice!
Nice job weaving your sponsor into it lol. This looks interesting but I'm going to have a hard time with the whole set-up of the relationship. I remember the Mary Kay Letourneau thing and I hope they find a way to portray all this without seemingly condoning or even being neutral about it. Will definitely watch it.
The movie deals with it by simply displaying the fallout and collateral damage this situation has caused. The destruction is obvious, so the movie condones nothing. It's a wonderful film.
A hard time? yikes...From a psychological point of view I cant think of another kind of relationship that is more interesting.
Unfortunately they are trying to whitewash child abuse by calling this an affair. A character in the movie framed their relationship as an affair and most reviewers are calling this an affair, a romance, a tabloid story instead of abuse.
@@FleurPillager i watched it. They in no way tried to condone what she did.
@@cirugo7042 Most reviewers are calling this a movie about an affair, a romance or a tabloid story instead of child abuse.
Hey, Christy! Great review as always-- this channel is my go-to/favorite movie channel. I loved you guys on What the Flick!, and if it weren't for you two, there's smaller films I wouldn't find so easily.
That being said, congrats on your sobriety from alcohol! Would you consider edibles with CBD and/or THC? It's alcohol-free, and I'm prescribed them for PTSD-symptoms and IC-symptoms. I prefer medical cannabis over alcohol. But if you're interested in being drug-free altogether, I totally respect that!
I also hope you Ben, Alonso, and Matt enjoyed the holidays :)
I’m so glad that you mentioned Cory Michael Smiths performance because he dazzled me with his performance. I remember him being great in Olive Kitteridge and I never saw him again. I was pleasantly surprised to see him. Great movie
Isn't he great in this? Thanks for watching!
I forgot to mention it, but he's also great in Yen Tan's indie film 1985.
Smith is great!
He ooozes Gay energy
This is such a good movie. I'm so glad to find these enthusiastic reviews of it.
Really looking forward to watching this one. Netflix has been really meh about theatrical releases where I live so I’ll have to wait till Friday the 1st. This is a subject matter that I think only a filmmaker like Todd Haynes can tackle in the amount of time he had (23 days).
Can't wait. Thanks for your comments !
Great review with no spoilers!
Thank you Tyrone! What did you think of the movie?
I remember this on the news. I’ll watch it this weekend.
I found this film to be a perverse twisted version of past lives and loved it just as much! Been watching you guys for YEARS since what the flick!
Thank you so much for sticking with us!
This film was incredible. The tonal balance it pulled was really incredible. You laugh and then feel uncomfortable for having laughed. Charles Melton's performance is really incredible; I can't think of another performance like it considering how specific his character's situation is.
Also maybe a stretch but it reminded me a lot of Persona? I also just watched Persona for the first time so maybe that's why but the two women who slowly start to look exactly the same, the husband (akin to the child in Persona), and the way performance and acting and filmmaking weaves into the plot.
Favorite of the year so far, though I'm eagerly waiting to see Poor Things :D
When did you laugh? I found nothing about this movie to be funny
@@blankname6629 I laughed a lot, even if it was out of discomfort, cringe comedy. Off the top of my head: the hot dog line, the backhanded things Gracie says to her kids, the awkward pauses when the kids and grand kids run into each other, "I'm a huge fan!," the theater class scene and how inappropriate it gets, everything with the eldest son, the weed smoking scene, the sex scene, the use of the intensely dramatic score at purposefully strange moments...
@@blankname6629yeah seriously, Christie said something about laughing too... Ummm... Really?
Haynes intentionally borrowed from PERSONA! Good notice.
Cheerth!
Insecure people are very dangerous , aren't they ? I'm secure . That's the most bone chilling line I've ever heard in film .
I really enjoyed this film definitely looking forward to rewatching 😊
I can't wait to see it in theatres!
After this lets not metion MKL again but her student was 12 years old when she slep with him
Wow, that is very high for a melodrama. Solid writing and acting. Personally, the topic is not interesting, but might check it out.
Are you watching Godzilla Minus One? Great entertainment!
I'm from/live in Savannah, and I remember seeing Portman around town. It was interesting visiting local haunts. I liked the movie a lot, but I feel like I need to watch it again so I can appreciate the ending. It felt anticlimactic, but that is my issue.
Let us know what a second watch reveals for you!
I loved this movie but I wanted MORE
I thought it was brilliant. While this got good reviews, the fact that it's not considered one of the year's best shows how much film criticism and award committees have deteriorated. My theory is it's because it has too much clarity. We understand everything perfectly. Apparently boredom and confusion is art. Since I understood everything in May, I could judge the material and say it's brilliant. (How can we judge something we can't fully understand?) Amazing acting by everyone, especially Melton, and a story coherently told while respecting the audience's time. Glad you guys gave it high scores.
I really enjoyed this one, what a fascinating look at these characters and how the situation has effected everyone. Julianne Moore's character has some killer verbal blows at the end of the film, and an incredible performance throughout.
Her character definitely takes a hardened turn toward the end! Glad you saw this.
Gosh can't agree that the movie doesn't play that relationship for ickiness , BUT isn't that just the brilliance of Todd Haynes because his films are obviously extremely open to a myriad of interpretations while at the same time making each of us feel that our own is the only one possible!! Me , I do not at all get the take that seems to be going around of "campy humour", for example, as personally I found the entire experience full of aching cringe and angst, aided by the musical choices, especially the opening with the butterflies, with both those themes returning at certain places to remind us that something very disquieting even sinister is going on here!! What's more the actors said that Todd regularly played that music on set too, to set the feeling!! That it's been nominated in the Musical or Comedy category at the GGs is truly shocking to me!!🤷🏻♀
Well Moore did make Savage Grace, a true story where her character allegedly sleeps with her son. The story here is in the same neighborhood, but it also sounds like a very different movie.
Watched this film 2 nights ago and i'm still thinking about it. There's so many layers in each character that I can't help wanting to know more about them. Especially Gracie and Joe whose dysfunctional relationship is so creepy and heartbreaking in equal measure. Charles Melton's performance in particular really broke my heart just to see the victim constantly be manipulated by his groomer and feel utterly aimless & stunted because of what he went through at such a young age. Julianne Moore's performance deeply unnerved me but had me wondering if she was also abused as a child & that fucked her up for life. Though the scene with her and the fox in the woods really showed her true colors as a vicious predator.
All in all i feel like this is a film I'll be talking about for a long time.
Right? It definitely lingers with you. Thanks for your thoughts.
"Table For One" is such a great idea guys!......7.9/10 for May December but that ending got under my skin though.
We've loved doing them! They're a great way to connect with our viewers, and people have made really interesting choices. Email us at bfastalldaypod@gmail.com if you'd like to know more!
I action is so important in this film. Loved it.
I saw a Todd Haynes interview a few weeks ago, and I'm pretty certain he said that the basic idea was indeed inspired by the Letourneau case. But its in no way trying to be a telling of that story, obviously. Just a taking-off point.
Ah, thank you. Should have phrased that more clearly.
@@BreakfastAllDay No, it's cool! Just giving information, in case you weren't sure. Gonna watch it tonight actually!
I loved this movie, so complex and interesting story with excellent performances. The only thing I disagree with this review on is the score - I found it grating and distracting. But thought it was a great film otherwise, with a lot of symbolism and tragic yet thoughtful themes. The screenplay was perfect.
The decision to reuse the main theme from Michel Legrand’s score for the 1971 film The Go-Between was a huge distraction for me.
That's a brilliant idea though
I thought I recognised the score from Le Messager, aka Go Between…
Saw it yesterday, it's really good, one of the best of the year.
Glad you loved it too, thanks Gordon!
Woah! That's what this film is about? Sold! On the film and the nonalcoholic beer ;)
Great! Hope you enjoy, and let us know what you think on both.
What is about nonalcoholic beer?
I've read a ton of "what the ending means" and I'm very surprised that none of them match what I felt the film was clearly trying to imply:
I thought the ending was telling us that Natalie Portman's character had taken on so much of Moore's personality that she had fully become a predator herself and had designs on the boy playing young Melton. It was a callback to her telling the acting class earlier that when you do a love scene, there are points where the lines between pretend and reality are blurred and flippped sometimes. Clearly she was referencing an event in her life where she got involved with an actor she'd had a love scene with, showing that she is susceptible to that. So in that final scene, my reading is that she wanted to do another take because she WANTED to get to that point where that line got blurred. She was clearly always trending towards that, by being attracted to Melton from the get-go, and then wanting to make sure the child actor playing him was sexier. And then she actually got to sleep with him (adult Melton), fulfilling that desire, but she was disappointed because the person she got wasn't the naive boy who worshipped the older woman, but the aimless man who was now having to deal with the consequences of all those choices. In the previous scene, when Portman is monologuing Moore's letter, she fully GETS who Moore was, and why she loved this boy, and I believe in that moment, the line between reality and acting got blurred in her own mind and she wanted to experience that same sensation. I feel that the movie is telling us that Portman is going to seduce that boy.
I actually felt it was even more insidious and darker than that. I don't even know that Natalie Portman's character wanted to seduce the boy in the scene. I actually think she was so ego-driven and parasitic that she wanted to literally consume Julianne Moore's character and all she had done. It felt like a parasitic relationship or a vampire-type situation. Honestly, Portman's character felt like a vampire in this.
@@christophercobb249 I can go with this.
That's an excellent interpretation of the final scene
it was heavily inspired by mary kay and villi
Tod Haynes is one of the best directors today. I really look forward to this! If it weren't for him and the cast this movie would have no interest to me.
Love Haynes!!!!
Wow, 2 nines, looks like this one is going on my list.
Let us know what you think when you see it!
Adults should never have sexual relationships with children...ever. That said, it is interesting that we find it disquieting when an woman could have children (from a second marriage/relationship) that are the same age as her grandchildren from a first marriage/relationship. And imagine what an uncomfortable situation that must be for those family members around the woman. Meanwhile, Mick Jagger is a great-grandfather and has an 8 year old son. No one blinks an eye. Completely acceptable in our society.
Yeah this film does a really good job of showing the affects that this trauma has had on this kid/man without having to explicitly tell us about it. It puts a ton of faith in the audience and I love that about it.
@@looney1023 Then why are most reviewers and a character in the trailer calling this an affair instead of child abuse?
The woman pregnant with Mick wasnt his student, wasnt a minor and he didnt have power over her. Ridiculous comparison.
@@FleurPillager because it's a movie, get over it
Instead of complaining about an out of context line from the trailer, watch the movie and you'll see that the person who calls it an affair was the man she was married to, so from his perspective it was an affair, and by definition it is an affair (affair doesnt necessarily imply consent).@@FleurPillager
Ooh, sounds Oscary!
Just watched it tonight. Very good movie. With Julianne playing a conniving, gaslighting evil bitch of a character. And then Natalie. No better off either. A lot of bad people here, except for an incredible performance by Charles Melton as Joe. That graduation scene was heartbreaking.
But watching it though, I wondered if a director like BRIAN DEPALMA would have given it even more menace. Certainly the music reminded me of a De Palma film like “BODY DOUBLE.” Overall, very good movie. Could have been Great.
I liked this very much. I just don´t understand where all the money comes from. Moore´s character and her family live in a big, big house, they have kids on their way to university.... who is paying for all this? Joe doesn´t work. Julianne Moore´s character bakes some cakes but that´s not enough.
Ha, that's a good question. Maybe from selling the rights to their story over the years ...?
What do you mean Joe doesn't work? He's a doctor. There are scenes with him at work.
@@desertsuede4 Believe he's an X-ray technician.
@@BreakfastAllDay maybe so, but he definitely has a job
Julianne Moore could play Portman's mother.
I'm pretty sure thar's built into the irony of the film as a key source of tension, even if unspoken. When I saw it, I could not help but think how Julianne Moore's character could be Natalie Portman's parent.
I can see why the music is the way it is but it was throwing me off. I did not like it
♥
Both Natalie Portman & Julianne Moore look like sisters in the movie posters.
OMG ITS MY WHAT THE FLICK PEOPLE FINALLY!!!
So glad you found us! We've been here for about five years now 😄
@@BreakfastAllDay haha then RUclips algorithm is doing a poor job helping me find y'all!! So excited! Was a watcher for years and ya got me back!
why it’s called May December?
The phrase May December romance usually refers to a relationship between an older man and a younger woman. This is a different version of that.
@@BreakfastAllDay english is not my first language, tnx for the explanation!
@@ekvilist Thank you for watching! We're glad you're here.
Are Cory Michael Smith & Todd Haynes lovers???
I think that is a possibility, but Haynes is super private about his affairs
I don't understand the praise. I thought it was dreadful: overracted, predictable, melodramatic and horrible musical score.
Pretentious and the score was silly. Better movie if the victim and yes he was a victim at 12 realized what happened to him. The actress observing was not necessary. Movie of the Week at best
She's not that kind of snake.
May December didn’t work for me at all. The melodramatic music cues throughout the film seemed thematically out of place and unintentionally comical. 4/10
_“I don’t think we’re going to have enough hotdogs!”_
See, that line was hilarious 😄 We enjoyed the self-aware nature of the melodrama.
@@BreakfastAllDay That’s the thing… it didn’t seem self-aware to me, as most of the film appeared to be played straight, so that line (and other moments) were cringe. It might work on a second viewing.
@@Thomas15that line was definitely self-aware. Although Todd Haynes wasn’t going for camp, the score heightened the camp aspect of the plot and subject matter. Do watch again. It also helps if you watch it with an audience who is laughing at certain moments.
Imagine if this were centered around a man... Could anyone honestly say that kind of movie would be seen as appropriate.
You don't have to imagine. They're called American Beauty, Manhattan, even Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. All of them are beloved and considered classics. They treat those relationships as "appropriate" with no criticism. May December is a film that criticizes that trope and examines how that kind of grooming and abuse can ruin a person's life without them realizing it, so I think it actually is morally superior to those films. Try watching it.
I feel like we watched completely different movies. I could not get into this one at all. Though I recognize that I'm very much in the minority on this one.
Well you are not alone. I feel the exact same. I just barely made it to the end and couldn’t stand the music…That being said all actors were amazing the esthetique of the movie was beautiful but at the end the story felt short. I think the only scene that was very good for me was the first time the dad smokes weed with his son other than that it was hard to get anything emotional from the rest of the movie..
😍💥🌟❤️🥰
I so didn't get this film at all. We all found it a total bore. Except for Natalies monologue.
Can we all talk about how Unsurprising is I’d for a man to be 23 years his wife’s senior???
It doesn’t even get mention these days or ever.
I believe that's why the title of the film is meant ironically. "May-December" is a phrase often associated with relationships of older men and younger women. However, the irony is even more discomfort-inducing because the "May" person in the "relationship" is so young that he can't even give consent. It's a powerful and very unsettling movie, for sure.
This was soooo bad,.
Really? How so?
@@BreakfastAllDay I felt the whole movie was poorly constructed. Not impressed with the writing or acting. Personal opinion only. To each his own.
I enjoy your reviews. I just don't always agree. Have a great day.
I’m in the minority, but I didn’t like this movie. It didn’t grab my attention. But give Charles Melton his Oscar nom
Wasn't he great? What he's doing is so subtle.
Get your facts straight please. Mary Kay had an affair with Vili who was actually age 12 at the time. And what she did was sexually abuse him.
Thank you for stopping by and offering your thoughts.
Affair? It was sexual abuse .
@@user-xw9cz8fv3e You are right. I stand corrected. He was sexually abused.
People are you kidding this really a bad movie
It’s pretentious. What normal person has a bug collection? The entire purpose of which was to use as an analogy that you could see coming from a million miles away. This movie thinks it’s clever but it’s not
These were not normal people
Most movies have plots and inciting incidents and events that separate the different acts and highlight themes, and convey messages. Most movies.
the last time I saw a Natalie Portman movie that was this interesting, had this much depth of psychology, well it was 1994 and it was her very first, Leon: the Professional 🌆🍝🥷💰