May December                 4 stars

As director Todd Haynes’ movie May December opens, we see a family gathering at a southern mansion with teenagers and neighbors having a backyard barbecue. It seems like a normal family scene except for the menacing score intimating something dark going on. Gracie (Julianne Moore of Still Alice, Boogie Nights and The Kids Are All Right) is preparing food and conversing with the neighbor when her husband, Joe (Charles Melton of Riverdale) comes in for a beer and Gracie questions if he has had too many. Right away we get the feeling that this is not an equal relationship as Gracie is the one who controls every aspect of this marriage. Things look more peculiar when we realize that Gracie is an older woman in her sixties, while Joe, who is half Korean is in his mid- thirties. Then we learn that the couple is expecting a visitor, a Hollywood actress, Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman of Black Swan and Closer) who has asked to shadow the couple as she is preparing to portray Gracie in an upcoming movie role. As the movie progresses, we learn more about their story. When Gracie was previously married with a family, she started an affair at the pet store where she worked with a new employee, Joe, who was 13 years old at the time. She served time in prison for the “indiscretion”, got divorced then married Joe whom she started a second family with. Now they have three teenage children, two of whom are about to graduate from high school, making the unusual couple soon to be empty nesters. (There is an intentional similarity to Mary Kay Letourneau’s story.) Things get more interesting and troubling as Elizabeth interacts with the couple individually and interviews others affected including Gracie’s ex-husband (D. W. Moffett of Switched at Birth and Chicago Med), her son from the earlier marriage, her defense attorney and the pet store owner. The intruder, Elizabeth, has a disruptive effect on this marriage the more she is present and even mimicking the actions of Gracie. Previously suppressed emotions come to the surface, especially for Joe as he starts to experience a mid-life crisis, realizing that he is treated more like a teenager than as a husband. The tension is thick thanks to the acting talents of Julianne Moore who is the expert at turning on the tears and to Portman in her best role since Jackie. Director Haynes has created a real showcase for the actors, making a dramatic character study for all three main parts. Haynes and Moore have previously worked together in Safe, Far from Heaven, I’m Not There and Wonderstruck. It’s clear that these two create movie magic when paired together. Moore, a previous Best Actress winner and five-time Academy Award nominee has again been nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award for her role.