Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore star in “May December” by Todd Haynes, released in theaters on January 24, 2024.
To prepare for a role in her next film, a Hollywood actress decides to meet a woman who caused a scandal by marrying a young man 23 years her junior twenty years ago. Here is the plot that spectators tempted to discover May December in theaters will follow.
The film directed by Todd Haynes is one of the big cinema releases on January 24, 2024. And for good reason: the filmmaker who moved many moviegoers with Carol, Far from Paradise, Dark Waters or The Museum of Wonders reunites his actress here fetish Julianne Moore (Jurassic Park, The Big Lebowski, The Hours) with the adored Natalie Portman (Léon, Black Swan…). The trio is completed by Charles Melton, actor revealed in Riverdale, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance in May December.
With such a glamorous poster, such a talented director and such a sulphurous subject, May December had all the assets in hand to arouse the curiosity of the public and the press. She was also seduced by the feature film which has a score of 3.8/5 on Allociné, which lists 18 press titles. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film is certified “fresh” with a critical rating of 90% (from 280 reviews from the international press), but an audience rating of 67%. If the specialized press is won over, May December is certainly divided among the public.
In France, the specialized magazine Cinemateaser hails a dramatic comedy that is “deliciously cowardly, funny and tragic,” while Les Inrockuptibles sees May December as “a sacking of the passions of the white American bourgeoisie.” For Télérama, it is first and foremost “the ambiguous relationship between two women” which makes Todd Haynes’ feature film “a masterful and captivating film”. “With talent, humor, finesse, the filmmaker takes us through various genres, raises some moral questions, delights in the filmic references slipped here and there, and has fun dynamiting sexual conventions,” notes L’Obs.
The interpretation of the actresses is also praised by the critics, Le Parisien praising Julianne Moore who “Moore amazes in her breathtaking interpretation of the enigmatic Gracie”. The media, on the other hand, was less convinced by Natalie Portman’s performance, unlike Première which praises a “acting lesson” given by the two actresses, who “deploy themselves with incredible power, finesse and intensity.” May December can be seen in cinemas from this Wednesday January 24, 2024.