Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore Explore a Shocking Tabloid Romance in “May December” Trailer

Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and Charles Melton star in 'May December'

Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore strike up an unsettling dynamic in their latest film.

Netflix debuted the first trailer for May December on Tuesday, the latest from director Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven, Carol).

The movie is about an actress named Elizabeth Berry (Portman) who prepares for her next role as the older woman in a scandalous tabloid romance 20 years after making headlines.

Elizabeth travels to Savannah, Georgia, to study the real-life couple behind the story — Gracie Atherton-Yoo (Moore) and Joe Yoo (Charles Melton) — whose illicit affair previously landed Gracie in prison due to their age difference. After her release, the two married.

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A press release for the film (which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year) says the couple “buckles under pressure” when Elizabeth “arrives to do research for a film about their past.”

Director Haynes told Netflix's Tudum how he worked with Moore to capture the complexities of her character.

"I think Julianne was needing to really get to the core of what could make this kind of relationship occur," he said.

"The complexity of the character of Gracie as written, and I think as it unfolded, particularly in conversations with Julianne, 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."

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"Both women are circling each other and trying to get a handle on each other," said Haynes. "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. It’s Elizabeth’s project to try to navigate around these resistances piece by piece."

May December opens the New York Film Festival on Friday. It's in select theaters Nov. 17 then on Netflix Dec. 1.

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