I love these condensed, boiled down character studies so much, even if they're told with this level of camp and soap-operatic flair between scenes. It tells such a thematically dark story, but keeps it bubbling under the surface for the entire runtime, only told through brief glimpses and passing conversations between these embroiled characters. Gripping and thoroughly engaging, with a lovely layer of double-speak dialogue and symbolism, May December will leave you feeling disparaged and gross, but also deeply sad and empathetic towards some of the people wrapped up in this morally questionable tale.
-- Incoherent, spoiler-filled ramblings --
Although on the nose, I really did like some of the framing and symbolism woven through this movie. Joe cultivating butterflies, caged and trapped while they are given time to cocoon and transform, a direct metaphor for Joe himself. I like the hope this builds around the character, he's still in chrysallis, all he needs to do is break out of the cocoon he finds himself in, be reborn and start anew.
I really liked the shot of Elizabeth going to see Joe at his place of work. These two people of equal age, but with completely different levels of maturity and posture. One plucked from childhood by Gracie before he's had a chance to grow, still a child in demeanour, shoulders slouched and unable to confidently talk or hold a conversation. The other fully grown, at the top of her respective field, speaking coherently and with projection. It was a very nice way of showing the difference between the two, and how regressed Joe really is after this entire ordeal.
Gracie is shown as a proficient hunter, holding a snake in the reenactment, a predator, only giving off the fascade of innocence and softness to entice and ensnare her prey. We see throughout that she attempts to instill a sense of purity, innocence and childlike maturity to those around her to control and make people do what she wants. It's only when Joe later attempts to speak openly about how he really feels do we finally see the real Gracie. Cutting, manipulative, and immediately on the defensive, blaming those around her with a deft spin. She tells her son from her first marriage to lie about being a victim of incest to try and win sympathy; to give a cosy explanation as to why she is the way that she is while also trying to manipulate his way onto the movies production. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree it seems.
Elizabeth's monologue to the drama class is also very apt and inkeeping with the themes of the movie. Firstly it shows the maturity difference between boys and girls at that age and by extension Joe when he was groomed by Gracie. All the girls in the class are mature, poised, ready to listen, while the boys are all joking around, unserious, immature. Elizabeth talks about actors accidentally becoming one with their characters and scene partners, the line between reality and fiction blurring, becoming one in the same. This directly relates to Gracie, who is playing a character of her own creation, trying to convince everyone she's lovely and innocent when she's really the exact opposite. Controlling, manipulative, sociopathic. We also see Elizabeth fall victim to this as well, growing too close to Gracie and Joe, culminating in her sleeping with the latter. I still can't decide if Elizabeth is just as bad for preying on this couple for her own career, I feel I might need to go back and watch this one again to fully understand how I feel about her.
