May December brought to life the story of Gracie (Julianne Moore) and her relationship with Joe (Charles Melton) years after she manipulated him as a child (the film is loosely based on the Mary Kay Letourneau scandal). The screenplay, written by Samy Burch, is a mix of humor and satire that lures us into Joe and Gracie’s world as they invite Hollywood actress Elizabeth (Natalie Portman) into their home to research her role as Gracie in an upcoming movie.
I spoke with Burch about working with director Todd Haynes and crafting a story that ultimately puts Joe front and center in the audience’s heart through the story. In talking with Burch, we discussed how she used Gracie and Elizabeth to highlight how Gracie’s actions stunted Joe’s growth as a man.
“I think that even from the first description, I think the first time you see him described in the script, it’s despondent or that there’s just a look in his eye,” she said. “There’s something so repressed and thoughtful and as you say, quiet, that Charles Melton brings so beautifully. His performance just breaks my heart. That was really always the intention that we get a certain sense of this character. And certainly he has his roles to play in this family and in this dynamic. As we go along, at a certain point, we get all these little quiet private moments. He’s very protected within the structure. And then at a certain point he kind of steps into the light as the focus, and as the heart, I think.”
A fading image of Gracie
When we meet Gracie, she seems like a beloved pillar of her community surrounded by loyal friends. The movie then slowly peels those layers away and we learn the truth about her. Gracie’s reveal is a slow burn for audiences and the film’s characters alike.
“I write from an outline,” Burch said. “So, that’s a part of it is certainly I’m not writing not knowing where it’s going. And I also in general, at least for the majority of the first draft, and then, things get played with, right? Chronologically. So there is that calibration as you go. But I think there’s just a lot of tension inherently with these characters that Todd, being the master filmmaker that he is, and these incredible actors, enhance. But so much tension comes from what’s not being said. There’s a lot of delusion, there’s a lot of denial. Some of it incredibly dangerous or dysfunctional. Some of it is more what everyone has a certain level of performance, I think going about their life. So, kind of, being aware of that tension of the gap between what’s being said and what, I feel as a writer, what I think we feel as an audience member, I think that has a lot to do with making sure that there’s some sort of escalation or what the arcs are emotionally.”
Bringing the actor’s truth to life
As someone who studied Meisner acting techniques in school, I was fascinated by Portman’s Elizabeth. I also thought it was hilarious that this actress, who was so completely unserious, was taking her research to such an extreme level. For Burch, she clearly felt similarly about Elizabeth as a character.
“I think that there’s something inherently comedic really about a TV actress from a network,” Burch said. “She’s got something to prove and that’s her having this kind of experience is ultimately more important to her than anything else. And I think the fun of the movie is getting to slowly lose our trust in this person, even though right off the bat she’s very insincere with everybody. We can tell in their first interaction. Natalie is so funny in this movie. The way that she interacts, even on these very easy levels that most people probably don’t have to pretend to say, ‘nice to meet you’ or can sense that Elizabeth is working very hard for that.”
Burch went on to talk about how Portman’s work brings out the performance aspect of Elizabeth’s life. “I’ve known a lot of actors in my life [Burch worked as a casting director previously.] This isn’t reflected on them, but there’s a performative nature obviously that’s enhanced with those kinds of people. And this is an extreme version of one, but yes, it would, she’s a very fun character to write and get to know because there are those moments where you see the mask fall and those are very compelling.”
Building to a horrifying confrontation
One of the most horrifying parts of May December comes from Gracie talking about “who” is in charge in her relationship. She talks about how Joe (who was a child when their relationship began) seduced her. At the end of the film, they have an explosive fight where she claims to be innocent and powerless during a time when she very much wasn’t.
“It was always gonna build to some kind of confrontation that was never going to be satisfying for Joe,” Burch said. “I think because, in one way, Gracie is unknowable. The whole movie sort of orbits around that, of how aware she was at the time and currently is and how much is an act and how much is manipulation, how much is something else. So I think that’s very complicated and not easy to unravel. But then there’s also a real willfulness both in, we see it in other ways in the film, but she refuses to look at herself. So even if her transgression wasn’t as extreme as this, I think the fact that he was trying to talk to her and that wall is so firmly up, that was never, it would never end. It would never end with her going, ‘oh, I see your point.'”
She went on to talk about how the fight continued to be a downfall for Joe. “So that always felt like where the climax of, at least, the two of them would go towards. I think a lot of the film is Joe just at the very beginning, just the very first part of these plates shifting within him and his perception. It’s clear why it would take so long and would be so incredibly difficult because of all these things that are on top of him and his situation and for how long. So I think that wall that he hits, it’s almost more effective for him and for us as the audience, cause he’s not being manipulated in that moment. I think it’s stunning. I think he slams into the wall and is actually jolted a bit, which is positive for his character.”
May December is streaming on Netflix now.
(featured image: Netflix)
