Movies Interesting Facts 
The sweet and hopeful world of The Idea of You, where a 40-year-old single mother named Solenn (Anne Hathaway) falls in love with a 24-year-old boy band musician named Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine). A feathery rom-com treat. Yet, for all the happy moments, there also exists a parallel world that thrives on the detailed examination of this unusual relationship. There are photographers outside Solenn’s house all the time, and the media coverage is worse. When Solin goes on the Internet to check how it is covered, she is horrified at the comments made by strangers. The Idea of You doesn’t have much to say about this extremely uncomfortable tabloid fascination that exists in mainstream culture. (Also read: The Idea Of You’s Nicholas Galitzine has this to say about comparisons with Harry Styles: ‘I think Hayes is…’)
It is in this aspect that Todd Haynes’s May December makes a compelling case. The dark comedy takes on a provocative tone when we learn that the story is based on the real-life events of Mary Kay Letourneau, a 34-year-old teacher who tormented her 12-year-old student, Vili Fualaau. Set in May/December, the story is fictionalized to tell about Gracie (Julianne Moore) and her much younger husband, Joe (Charles Melton), whom she first met when she was in the seventh grade. She was 36 years old then. His affair came to light and he was jailed. After years, a film is being made on this story. So, when lead actress Elizabeth (Natalie Portman), who plays Gracie, walks into their home, the intrigue begins to unravel. From their perspective, we watch the history of this relationship unfold from a distance.
May December rests on a very uncomfortable conceit, where the audience comes to see the story from Elizabeth’s perspective. Even though the years have passed, has the disgusting feeling of fascination with the story gone? not enough. It isn’t until the end of the film that we actually see a snippet of the film and the treatment this reprehensible story gets. Elizabeth repeatedly stated earlier that the film would be ‘complex’ and contain some ‘truths’. But as Elizabeth will soon realize, not everything in the house is as normal as it seems. Beneath Gracie’s seemingly naive personality, she is ultimately secure in her own neglect. Elizabeth becomes more specific in her questions: every question she asks, every detail she tries to note comes across with precision. Even her insistence on meeting Joe alone at work masks a motive where she wants to see who this person really is.
As Elizabeth and Gracie collide between their egos and passive-aggressive sets of projections, the film turns to Joe to explore the consequences, with devastating consequences. Whenever a man trapped in the subjugation of his own kind is on screen, the tone of May December changes. It comes together in this touching scene on the rooftop, where Joe gets a moment of connection with his teenage son Charlie (Gabriel Chung), who will be leaving for college the next day. Joe tearfully tells her, “I just want you to have a good life.” ,
It is in Melton’s thoughtful and layered performance where May December holds its devastating power. He will probably never be able to come to terms with what his life has become and see where it is going. May December is a slippery, complex puzzle film based on how Hollywood (and the film industry, in a broader scope) interprets these thorny stories for its appeal. Love is never the answer. What matters is which side of the story we have access to and what we are willing to believe. When Elizabeth finally asks for another take, what kind of calculation is she arriving at? Are we, as viewers, not participants in this inquiry?
The Idea of You and In December are both available to watch on Prime Video.
This is Weekend Ticket, where Shantanu Das talks about similar movies and shows based on recent releases.
