Everything to Know About “May December”

Here's what to know about May December, the thriller film starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore that's loosely based on a notorious true-crime story

May December explores an intriguingly dark dynamic between two women.

The drama stars Natalie Portman as an actress named Elizabeth who's preparing to play a role based on the life of Gracie, played by Julianne Moore, who made headlines 20 years ago for entering into a relationship with a teenager.

The love affair between Gracie and Joe, played by Charles Melton, is the controversy at the film's core, which began when she was 36 and he was 13. It eventually landed her in prison due to their age difference — though after her release, the two married and had a family together.

Director Todd Haynes, who began working on the script in 2019, opened up about the influence the real-life case of Mary Kay Letourneau had on May December, in addition to "tabloid culture of the '90s" as a whole. "That was the real jumping off point for me," he said.

The fictionalized character Haynes created "is not a pedophile," he said of Gracie. "She doesn't have a history of going after every little teenage boy. There's something very specific that happened to these two people."

May December has received critical acclaim since its release. Melton, former star of The CW's Riverdale, received a 2023 Gotham Award for his supporting performance in the film. His costar Moore celebrated his honor on Instagram during the ceremony in November 2023.

Read on for everything to know about May December.

Related: How Mary Kay Letourneau Inspired Julianne Moore's May December

What is May December about?

May December explores the increasingly fraught dynamic between two women, Portman's Elizabeth Berry and Moore's Gracie Atherton-Yoo. It also follows Melton's Joe Yoo as he navigates marriage and increasing strife with his wife, who seduced him as a teenager.

The film's official logline reads, “as Elizabeth attempts to get closer to the family, the uncomfortable facts of their scandal unfurl, causing difficult, long-dormant emotions to resurface.”

May December follows Elizabeth, a TV actress who's cast in a new prestige movie based on a scandalous tabloid romance, 20 years after it made headlines. The tabloid obsession centers around Gracie, who at 36 began an affair with a then 13-year-old Joe at a pet shop where they worked, which resulted in her being sent to prison.

After her release, Gracie married Joe, who is now 36 and preparing to be an empty nester as they send their younger kids to college. He maintains that the relationship was always consensual.

Elizabeth travels to Savannah, Georgia — where the film is set — to research the pair's real-life relationship as she prepares to portray Gracie in the upcoming film about the scandal. However, her digging into their lives begins to cause fissures as it forces Joe to rethink his dynamic with Gracie.

"Both women are circling each other and trying to get a handle on each other," director Haynes said during a press conference at the New York Film Festival in September 2023. "I think a lot of it is about a process of trust, which is Natalie’s character Elizabeth’s goal to make Gracie feel toward her."

He added, "It’s Elizabeth’s project to try to navigate around these resistances piece by piece."

Related: May December Director Says Charles Melton Gained 40 Lbs. for Movie Because His 'Hunkiness' Didn't Fit Role

Who's in the cast of May December?

May December stars Moore as Gracie Atherton-Yoo, Portman as Elizabeth Berry and Melton as Joe Yoo.

Moore has previously spoken about how difficult this role has been for her to take on. “I called up Todd [Haynes] and said, ‘I can’t do this. This is too hard!’” the actress admitted at Deadline’s Contenders Film L.A. in November 2023. “I was really struggling. I’m like, ‘Who is this woman?’”

Haynes, meanwhile, has praised the actress for her commitment to the part in order to "get to the core of what could make this kind of relationship occur," he previously said at a press conference.

"The complexity of the character of Gracie as written... represents a myriad of contradictions and fascinating elements of willfulness, and then a resolute, almost stubborn lack of self-reflection, a determination to stick to the choices that she’s made," Haynes said.

Related: Natalie Portman Says Working with Julianne Moore on May December Was 'Absolutely a Highlight of My Life'

Melton also took preparation for the role seriously, gaining 40 lbs. to transform into Joe, which he told Entertainment Tonight was part of getting into the character's head.

"It was more of a collective discussion with Todd and I. We talked about what Joe would feel like, not so much as look like,” he explained. “Looking at the facts of him being this suburban father with three kids and being a loving husband. He doesn't really have too much time to spend on himself."

He quipped of the weight gain, "I just ate a bunch of Five Guys and pizza and ice cream and Capri Suns and Gushers ... I can keep on going. And I really enjoyed myself!"

As for Portman, the Black Swan star was thrilled to work alongside Moore, describing the collaborative experience to Netflix Queue as an "absolutely a highlight of my life." She explained, "I’ve admired Julie for so long, and particularly her work with [director] Todd [Haynes]."

“Their collaborations have stayed in my mind as some of the highlights of films that I love," Portman continued. "So to get to be working with them together is absolutely a highlight of my life.”

Related: Past Lives, Charles Melton and Lily Gladstone Win Big at 2023 Gotham Awards: See Full List of Winners

Is there a May December trailer?

The first official trailer for May December was released in September 2023, giving viewers a glimpse at the unsettling dynamic between Portman and Moore's characters ahead of the film's open at the New York Film Festival in May 2023.

Related: Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore Explore a Shocking Tabloid Romance in May December Trailer

Is May December based on a true story?

May December is a fictionalized look at the real-life case of Mary Kay Letourneau, a Seattle school teacher sentenced to more than seven years in prison for child rape after she began sexually abusing her sixth-grade student Vili Fualaau in 1996.

During a press conference after a screening of the film at the New York Film Festival in September 2023, screenwriter Samy Burch explained how much of the story was inspired by the life of Letourneau, who died of cancer at 58 in 2020.

"I really wanted a fictional story that dealt with this tabloid culture of the '90s that has kind of seemingly led into this true-crime biopic world we're in now, and kind of question that transition and why we want to keep recreating these stories," said Burch, who began working on the script in 2019. "That was the real jumping off point for me."

"All of these stories like this that are in the ether are just completely embedded in everyone's cultural history," she added. While May December is loosely based on real-life happenings, Haynes revealed at the press conference that Moore took some inspiration from Letourneau when building the character, particularly in developing Gracie's speaking voice.

"To be honest, there were things in kind of a loose upper palate that we did find interesting in Mary Kay Letourneau's speech that was a kick-off for her. And she took it further," he said.

Related: Mary Kay Letourneau and Her Student: Inside the Relationship That Shocked a Nation

When did May December premiere?

May December premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2023. It later hit select theaters on Nov. 17 ahead of its release on streamers.

Related: Natalie Portman Says Women Are 'Expected to Behave' Differently Than Men at Cannes

Where to stream May December?

May December is available to stream on Netflix on Dec. 1, 2023.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.