Spoiler alert! The following story contains important details about the end of “May December” (streaming now on Netflix).
Is it possible to really know someone?
That’s a question posed at the end of “May December,” the bitterly funny and devastating new film from director Todd Haynes (Carol) and first-time screenwriter Sammy Burch.
The film follows TV star Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman) as she travels to Savannah, Georgia to accompany Gracie Atherton Yeo (Julianne Moore), whom she will play in an upcoming film. Decades earlier, when she was in her 30s, Gracie was convicted of seducing and raping 13-year-old Joe (Charles Melton), whom she later married and started a family with. As their now grown children prepare to graduate from high school, Joe begins to process his trauma while Elizabeth tries in vain to understand Gracie.
USA TODAY spoke with Portman and Moore about the film’s ending and the moving, moving monologue.
“May December”: Julianne Moore directed Mary Kay Letourneau for the Netflix film
Natalie Portman says her monologue in May was a “gift.”
At the end of the film, Portman delivers a stunning three-minute monologue directly to camera while Elizabeth reads an old love letter that Gracie wrote to Joe before learning of their affair. In the letter, Gracie admits that we’ve “gone too far,” but “now I think I’ve lost track of where the line is.”
After countless hours studying Gracie’s lisp and distinctive mannerisms, this is the first time Elizabeth has fully embodied her subject. She cries as she recites the letter alone in her room, throwing her head back in ecstasy and relief as she finally reaches the end.
“It’s extraordinary writing,” says Portman. “There’s a lot of lying and what they don’t tell each other is left out. Making this performance moment real is a gift for the actress. Those moments alone are so valuable in this film because they’re performative. “People, so you really feel sorry for the character when you’re not watching them.”
The letter states: “We are finally getting some information through this Gracie lens,” Burch says. She is not naive. She is fully aware of the legal implications and plays a completely opposite role throughout the film. But through Natalie we also see access to a deeply disturbed woman. “It’s not a surprise, but it’s still very unpleasant to watch.”
Portman shot eight takes of the scene, all of which were “subtly different but distinct,” says Hines.
“It was a masterclass in acting. It was a great day,” he remembers. “We shot the film on the second to last day of shooting, so she had time to get to grips with Gracie up to that point.” It was the scene I read in the script that made me want to start the film. And I knew that was exactly how I wanted to film it.
Portman was grateful that the monologue was saved at the end of the 23-day shoot.
“She was really lucky,” she says. “Todd created such a perfect working environment for us, and part of that was that we shot chronologically. We were able to start getting to know each other in real time and think about each other in that way.”
Julianne Moore learns the ending of the film and the unanswered questions
In the penultimate scene of the film, the women have their final showdown at the Gracie children’s graduation party. Satisfied with her preparation, Elizabeth soon began to have doubts when Gracie asked, “I wonder if any of this will really be important to your film.” Gracie then reveals the lies her son (Corey Michael Smith) told Elizabeth, meaning she never learned the full truth.
“For me the most important point is: ‘Do you understand me? Do you know me?’” Moore says. “I think for actors – and for all of us – you can only get so close to knowing someone else.” That’s the wonderful and frustrating thing about being human. Always wanting to know more, always trying to get there. But there will always be a very mysterious little piece that only belongs to that person.
Suddenly feeling insecure, Elizabeth tries to find something “real” on the set of her film. After finishing the role of Gracie in a blonde wig and pink lipstick, Elizabeth asks for another take before the screen goes black.
Burch reads Gracie’s letter and says, “Elizabeth probably has her best moment playing Gracie, which we think she ever will. It’s like Icarus flying too close to the sun.” “When we see her later on set, we know she will never feel as safe as she does in that moment alone in her room.”
As for Joe, the last time we see him is at his children’s graduation party, where he breaks down in tears as he watches from a distance. It’s up to the audience to decide whether to leave Gracie or not.
“This film raises questions,” says Moore. “The great thing is that a lot of people ask, ‘What do you think will happen? Will the family stay together?’ I can not answer. And the film ends with an inhale rather than an exhale.
Filmmaking: Julianne Moore Directs Mary Kay Letourneau in New Netflix Film ‘May December’
Charles Melton is one of the first Oscar nominees and the beating heart of the film
May-December is shaping up to be a major contender for the awards. Portman and Moore (both Oscar winners) are back in the running for their performances, as is Burch for Best Original Screenplay. Meanwhile, Melton is on the verge of his first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor after winning at both the Gotham Awards and the New York Film Critics Circle Awards last week.
Melton, 32, is best known for his role as Reggie Mantle on the CW series “Riverdale.” Hines was unfamiliar with the series but was immediately impressed by his audition tape.
“It was different than Jo imagined on the page,” Hines says. Compared to other actors auditioned for the role, Charles’ interpretation was more reserved, verbal, and reserved. His gaze was almost distracted when I saw a picture of him before he read the part. I said, I don’t think this will work. He looks like a model. But he did something quite extraordinary and understood things about Joe that became clear in the test he took.
“He’s a miracle,” Haynes continues. “He has a lot less experience than Julian or Natalie. He’s obviously dealing with these outstanding, powerful artists. But Charles brings a sensitivity and physicality to Joe that is very specific. It’s like a live performance, fragile. His tender little heart is beating right in front of you.
2023-12-02 19:01:10
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