Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, a married couple buckles under pressure when an actress arrives to do research for a film about their past.

Loosely based on the true story of Mary Kay Letourneau, a teacher who started a relationship with a 12-year-old boy and subsequently married him, ‘May December’ is a psychological drama that follows an actress (Elizabeth, played by Natalie Portman) who travels to Georgia to live with and study a controversial couple for an upcoming role. Julianne Moore plays Gracie, the Letourneau ‘stand-in’, alongside Charles Melton as Joe, and the movie follows Elizabeth as she attempts to learn more about the couple and how their story unfolded.

Directed by Todd Haynes, this is a movie that sets out to be purposely uncomfortable, both through the underlying premise and the barely hidden agenda Elizabeth has in spending time with the couple and their family. Elizabeth has to become friends with Gracie to learn about her and her motivations, with both woman knowing that she is only doing so to help her make a better movie. As time progresses, Elizabeth’s presence starts to cause ruptures in the idyllic family dynamic that Gracie and Joe present at first, and this reminder of the past and how they met drives Joe to question how he ended up in this place. Haynes approach is to explore the facts and feelings surrounding the case with an almost humorous lens, which is an interesting choice for such a controversial story about one individual taking advantage of a minor.

The performances, unsurprisingly, are very strong from Portman, Moore and Melton, with some great scenes when 2 of the 3 face off and attempt to dance around one another to get what they want – Elizabeth, to get material for her movie, while Gracie and Joe strive to present a better version of themselves for Elizabeth’s benefit. I wasn’t a big fan of the overly grandiose (and you could say self-satisfied) score, and I felt the direction the movie went in was quite predictable, which was a shame. That being said, come to ‘May December’ for the terrific performances and a campy story loosely based on true events.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: Todd Haynes

Starring: Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and Charles Melton

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt13651794/