Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman face off in the latest teaser for Todd Haynes’ latest film, May December, the Netflix-acquired Cannes breakout with several meta layers of complexity. The film follows a pair of women (Moore and Portman) whose personal and professional lines begin to blur as they work together on a film based on a painful, real life May-December romance.
It’s a complicated story, born of a Black List-touted script by Samy Burch that’s generated buzz since its Cannes premiere. Here’s everything to know about May December:
What is the May December plot?
Per an official synopsis, the film is “20 years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, Gracie Atherton-Yu (Moore) and her husband Joe (23 years her junior) brace themselves for their twins to graduate from high school. When Hollywood actress Elizabeth Berry (Portman) 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 36.”
Who is in the May December cast?
As noted, Portman and Moore are the stars of the film, while Riverdale breakout Charles Melton plays Joe. The film is also the latest collaboration between Haynes and Moore, who have previously worked together on Safe, Wonderstruck and Far From Heaven. It’s Portman’s first time working with Hayes and marks her return to a meaty character role; aside from Thor: Love and Thunder Portman has been relatively quiet on the film front since 2018’s Vox Luxe.
May December could also prove to be a breakout moment for 32-year-old Melton, a fan favorite on the recently completed, long-running campy soap Riverdale who has also had spots on series like American Horror Story and Poker Face. The cast is rounded out by Piper Curda, Elizabeth Yu, and Gabriel Chung, who play Moore and Melton’s children.
Is there a May December trailer?
The first teaser for the film dropped on September 5. The brief clip starts with Moore and Portman facing each other in the mirror, flashes on a tabloid page about a “baby born behind bars,” bringing to mind the infamous Mary Kay Letourneau case, and ends with Portman’s character saying to the camera (and presumably Melton’s Joe), “I think about you all the time.”
When is the May December release date?
May December will premiere in select theaters on Friday, November 17 before streaming on Netflix on Friday, December 1.