There's a difference between understated filmmaking and subtlety taken too far, and director Todd Haynes’s newest film unfortunately falls into the latter category. The story—about an actress (Natalie Portman) who meets with a middle-aged woman (Julianne Moore) to prepare for a role portraying her in a movie—struggles to find solid ground and explore its ideas effectively. The narrative examines various aspects of the backgrounds of the characters slated to be portrayed, but never truly resolves any of them by the time the film concludes. This includes not only the protagonist’s reasons for pursuing her former underage husband (Charles Melton)—actions that led to legal trouble and sensationalized tabloid coverage—but also the actress's true motivations in conducting such an intense examination of her character. As a result, nearly every person involved seems somewhat unpleasant, and given that the truth is never clearly established about any of them, it raises the question of why we should invest in their story. The film’s subtlety becomes excessive, bordering on enigmatic, which only reinforces the reason to not care. Ironically, this understated quality contrasts with some rather obvious (and cliché) symbolism, especially when dealing with themes of change and transformation. The movie's fluctuating tone doesn't help either, shifting between what seems like a serious drama and an underdeveloped attempt at camp—which would likely have made it a better film. A wandering script and slow pacing also contribute to the problem, leaving viewers frequently puzzled about where the story is going. Ultimately, this is disappointing because there’s clear potential in the project, but it's never fully realized. Leads Moore and (particularly) Portman deliver commendable performances trying to elevate the material, but they don’t have enough substance to work with. While there are hints of themes like the challenges of confronting buried emotions and the possibility that we can never truly understand the truth behind them—whether as observers or participants—the film's obscure presentation undermines any meaningful messages or cinematic value it might have had, making the whole experience feel like a considerable waste of time. Director Haynes has created impressive films previously, including “Poison” (1991), “Far From Heaven” (2002) and “Dark Waters” (2019), but "May December" unfortunately doesn’t belong among them.

Source on TMDB