May December

R

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1h 53m

Drama

Romance

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for May December: Trailer 1

List

91%

317 Reviews

Tomatometer

65%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, Gracie Atherton-Yu and her husband Joe (twenty-three years her junior) brace themselves for their twins to graduate from high school. When Hollywood actress Elizabeth Berry comes to spend time with the family to better understand Gracie, who she will be playing in a film, family dynamics unravel under the pressure of the outside gaze. Joe, never having processed what happened in his youth, starts to confront the reality of life as an empty-nester at thirty-six. And as Elizabeth and Gracie study each other, the similarities and differences between the two women begin to ebb and flow. Set in picturesque and comfortable Savannah, Georgia, May December is an exploration of truth, storytelling, and the difficulties (or impossibility) of fully understanding another person.

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Critics Consensus

Swaddling its difficult fact-based story in a blanket of campy humor, May December is a seductively discomfiting watch.

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Audience Consensus

May December benefits from a really talented cast, although its unorthodox approach to a reality-inspired story may frustrate some viewers.

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Steph Green

Empire Magazine

May December is not just a skilful satire of suburban propriety; it’s a unique and uncanny affair about the nature of performance itself.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 18, 2024

Full Review

Stephen Romei

The Australian

Complex, intelligent, thought-provoking filmmakers are back in fashion.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 3, 2024

Full Review

Jake Wilson

The Age (Australia)

Both performances are built out of distancing devices, and the whole film is shot through with camp irony, though the effect, as usual with Haynes, is more conceptual than outright funny.

Rated: 3.5/5

Feb 2, 2024

Full Review

Jeffrey Overstreet

Looking Closer

With May December, Haynes returns to the fully immersive horror of Safe while also braiding paradoxically dramatic and hilarious tones — I believe what I’m seeing even as I’m laughing at the outrageousness of the whole scenario.

Rated: A

Apr 29, 2024

Full Review

Sarah Vincent

Sarah G Vincent Views

Melton comes out of nowhere and hints that a better movie would have focused on Joe. Melton adds a complex pathos to Joe, who claims not to be a victim, but is alone at sea with no safe person to process his emotions over his predicament.

Apr 12, 2024

Full Review

Ishita Sengupta

The Federal

Nothing in May December is what it seems. The film unravels in the high-strung beats of a melodrama (Marcelo Zarvos’ music amping up the stakes) but embedded within are revelations fit for a slow-burn horror story.

Apr 8, 2024

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Justin

Great movie about psychology, and the acting is superb.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/03/23

Full Review

Jessika Johnson

Charles Melton is my favorite part of this film. The way he is the stand out in a film with an A-List cast like this oh Im hopping on that Charles Melton best supporting actor Oscar campaign. I have too many thoughts but dont know where to start. One of my favorite watches of the year. Natalie Portman is amazing as always.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/01/23

Full Review

Robyn K

Film kind of boring and slow - with no let up. Always nice to see, however, the two female leads and observe their acting.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

11/21/23

Full Review

cav

May December was very interesting to watch, kept you wondering exactly what all the underlying problems of the 3 main characters were. Very well acted by all the players.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The 1-star audience reviews are always the best: "Wow this was not great. What is with the positive reviews? The acting was pretty bad and it was strangely overdramatized with super fast transitions and music that reminded me of SNL's The Californians. Was it supposed to feel like a soap opera? What am I missing?" Dear Haylea D: The positive reviews are from grown-ups who can, like you, wince from Marcelo Zarvos’s score with its overdramatic bombast. But unlike you, some of us can connect this to the sense of dread, foreshadowed in the opening cut from the faux bucolic superficial suburban BBQ to the creepy subterranean slitherings beneath, to the tabloid backdrop which adds to the true crime tone behind it all and truly marvel at the moments of deftly crafted humor which emerge from the cringe-worthy source material. Yes the acting was supposed to be precisely pretty bad. "I saw you on TV, operating on an elephant." Later we hilariously find out that performance was on a show called Noah's Ark. The answer to your last question: a brain.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/07/24

Full Review

Audience Member

The movie was great, but definitely not for everyone! I really thought it was interesting. I wouldn’t say I liked it more that I was intrigued by it.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/04/24

Full Review

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Todd Haynes

Director

Natalie Portman

Elizabeth Berry

Julianne Moore

Gracie Atherton-Yoo

Cory Michael Smith

Georgie Atherton

Charles Melton

Joe

Piper Curda

Honor

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May December: Trailer 1

2:26

May December: Teaser

0:33

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Synopsis

Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, Gracie Atherton-Yu and her husband Joe (twenty-three years her junior) brace themselves for their twins to graduate from high school. When Hollywood actress Elizabeth Berry comes to spend time with the family to better understand Gracie, who she will be playing in a film, family dynamics unravel under the pressure of the outside gaze. Joe, never having processed what happened in his youth, starts to confront the reality of life as an empty-nester at thirty-six. And as Elizabeth and Gracie study each other, the similarities and differences between the two women begin to ebb and flow. Set in picturesque and comfortable Savannah, Georgia, May December is an exploration of truth, storytelling, and the difficulties (or impossibility) of fully understanding another person.

Director: Todd Haynes
Producer: Lee Broda, Samy Burch, Madeleine K. Rudin, Jonathan Montepare, Alex Brown, Jeff Rice, Thomas K Richards, Thorsten Schumacher
Screenwriter: Samy Burch
Distributor: Netflix
Production Co: Project Infinity, Gloria Sanchez Productions, MountainA, Killer Films, Taylor & Dodge
Rating: R (Graphic Nudity|Drug Use|Language|Some Sexual Content)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 17, 2023, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 1, 2023
Runtime: 1h 53m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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