Summary
May December features Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore in a provocative film about a controversial romantic relationship. Portman, a Harvard graduate, has earned three Oscar nominations, while Moore has received five. Both have won Best Actress. Charles Melton delivers an impressive performance as a relative newcomer to the big screen, alongside a talented supporting cast.
May December features a robust cast led by two Oscar winners and a promising young talent in what appears to be his breakout Hollywood role. May December follows a darkly intimate story directed by Todd Haynes (Carol, Safe, Mildred Pierce) based on a screenplay by Samy Burch. The title is in reference to a romantic relationship in which one person is much older than the other, which is certainly the case for two of the main characters in the film whose infamous affair gained the fascination of the national press. Natalie Portman plays a famous method actress who visits Julianne Moore’s Gracie to learn how to play her in an upcoming movie.
Along with being a graduate of Harvard University, Portman has earned three Oscar nominations for her supporting role in Closer (2005), her lead role in 2017’s Jackie, and her lead role in Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, for which she won Best Actress at the 2011 Academy Awards. Moore is also an accomplished actor who has earned five Oscar nominations for her roles in Boogie Nights (1998), The End of the Affair (1999), The Hours (2002), Far from Heaven (2002), and Still Alice (2014), the last of which she won Best Actress. May December will mark the first pairing of Portman and Moore together onscreen.
Natalie Portman As Elizabeth Berry
Portman plays Elizabeth Berry in May December, a determined and highly skilled method actor who travels to Savannah, Georgia to spend time with Gracie Atherton-Yoo, the controversial subject of her next film. Outside of the films previously mentioned, Portman’s most notable works include V for Vendetta (2005), Star Wars: Episodes I-III (1999-2005), Annihilation (2018), Thor (2001), Garden State (2004), Heat (1995), and Léon: The Professional (1994), in which she made her feature film debut at the age of 13.
Julianne Moore As Gracie Atherton-Yoo
Julianne Moore plays Gracie Atherton-Yoo, the subject of Elizabeth’s upcoming film who infamously had an affair with a 7th-grader and continued to have a relationship with him to the point of marriage and children after being imprisoned. Moore’s best films that have yet to be mentioned include Magnolia (1999), The Kids Are Alright (2010), Kingsman: The Secret Service (2017), A Single Man (2009), Hannibal (2001), The Big Lebowski (1998), and Todd Haynes’ Safe (1995). Moore also starred as President Alma Coin in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Parts I & II.
Charles Melton As Joe Yoo
Charles Melton is a relative newcomer to the big screen compared to his co-stars Portman and Moore, which makes his performance as Joe Yoo all the more impressive. Melton is arguably best known for his role as Reggie Mantle in the CW drama Riverdale, in which he has appeared in 91 of the show’s 137 episodes. Melton’s other notable appearances include one episode of Rian Johnson’s Poker Face, the recent History of the World: Part II based on Mel Brooks’ original 1981 film, and the 2020 action movie Bad Boys for Life. He made his television debut in a supporting role in an episode of Glee in 2014.
Andrea Frankie As Rhonda
Andrea Frankie plays Rhonda in May December, a close friend of Gracie Atherton-Yoo. Frankie has recently appeared in the Amazon film The Burial starring Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones and in six episodes of the popular Hulu miniseries Dopesick. Frankie’s most notable works include True Detective season 1, HBO’s miniseries The Outsider, 2018’s The Purge series, and the 2020 Steve Carrell and Reese Witherspoon comedy Irresistible.
D. W. Moffett As Tom Atherton
D.W. Moffett plays Tom Atherton in May December, Gracie’s ex-husband. Moffett has appeared in several notable films such as the Oscar-winning Traffic (2000), Thirteen (2003), Stealing Beauty (1996), and Falling Down (1993). Outside of May December, his most recent roles include Jack Killoran in Bosch (2020), Jeff Walsh in How to Get Away with Murder (2017 – 2020), and Tripp DeWitt in the FOX series Monarch.
Elizabeth Yu As Mary Yoo
Elizabeth Yu plays one of Gracie and Joe’s children named Mary in May December, which will mark just her second appearance in a feature film. Yu made her film debut in 2022 with the dramedy Somewhere in Queens which starred and was written and directed by Ray Romano. Yu is set to play Azula in Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series which will premiere sometime in 2024. She is also attached to several projects currently in production, including the lead roles in Year One and Black Spines.
May December
Release Date: 2023-12-01
Director: Todd Haynes
Cast: Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, Charles Melton
Rating: R
Runtime: 113 Minutes
Genres: Drama, Romance
Writers: Samy Burch, Alex Mechanik
Studio(s): Gloria Sanchez Productions, Killer Films, MountainA
Distributor(s): Netflix