Hello film fans! It’s Slick Dungeon and I am back to review another film nominated for an Oscar this year. This time I watched the unsettling and darkly comedic film May December which is nominated for Best Original Screenplay. Trigger warning here that this film deals with very adult issues and could be unsettling for those who have suffered any type of sexual trauma. Please be aware of that before you watch this film or read this review. There will be spoilers for this movie as well so if that sort of thing is an issue for you, make sure you go watch the film before reading the review below.

What’s it About?

While this film is not a biopic or technically based on a true story, the premise is one that seems like it is ripped from the tabloids. Years ago there was a famous case where a female teacher had, we’ll call them relations, with a thirteen year old boy, which is without a doubt a crime. Fast forward years later and the woman has given birth while in prison, has done her sentence, and the woman and man who are now both of legal age are married and living their lives. This film takes that premise and adds another layer to it. An actress who is set to portray the woman from the incident is visiting so she can understand her source material.

In the movie, Julianne Moore plays the wife in question. Natalie Portman plays an actress who wants to get deep in her role. Not a stretch for Natalie Portman, not that this makes her performance any less good, it’s just obviously familiar territory for her. Julianne Moore’s character has a life that is relatively stable. Her kids are about to graduate high school and go off to college. And her husband, while young, very young, is seemingly committed to her.

But the visit by the actress puts a strain on the relationship as issues from the past emerge once again. Neighbors, friends, and family are scandalized once more and know they will be again when the movie comes out, and things just generally become more difficult. In the midst of this, Natalie Portman’s character is trying her hardest to get in the head of the woman she is portraying while also trying to get the real story behind what happened. She’s subtle and manipulative of everyone around her but it’s ambiguous in the end as to who was truly using who in the movie.

While this is supposed to be darkly comedic, I didn’t realize that while watching. I guess there are parts you could find comedy in but the situation is so disturbing it’s hard to wrap my head around any of it being played for any kind of laughs.

So far, out of the films I have watched for the Oscars, this is the one I would most recommend skipping, not just because of the trauma aspect to it. It’s fairly slow paced and dull. But, Moore and Portman, as usual put in solid performances and newcomer Charles Melton also shines with a subtle but intriguing character.

The Award

I will say the screenplay here is original and there is one thing it does quite well. It gives us every perspective possible. There are no good or bad guys here, everyone is multidimensional and complex. But I still keep coming back to the fact that having sex with a minor is a crime, even if years later the couple is still together. So, while I understand the perspective shown of Julianne Moore’s character, I can never find where we should think to forgive her.

Natalie Portman’s character is not all innocent either as she seems to enjoy stirring up a bit of trouble as long as it gets her what she wants. And she does the one thing she knows could ruin the relationship between the wife she is portraying and her husband and seemingly has utterly zero regrets about it.

It is a film that you will still think about after if you watch it. Personally, i don’t think this film has enough here to take home the Oscar. It’s up against The Holdovers, Maestro, Past Lives, The Holdovers and Anatomy of a Fall. Every one of those has had more momentum in awards season than this one so this is a long shot.

In Conclusion

There are a lot of movies in the Oscar categories this year and while I recommend most of them, unless you are a huge fan of Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, or Todd Haynes as the filmmaker, you’re probably okay to skip this one. There is good writing here, no doubt, and the characters feel real and fleshed out, but it’s such an uncomfortable watch, without much payoff to it, that it may not be worth your time.

Skippably yours,

Slick Dungeon