Have you ever wanted to witness an actor’s process of method acting and their preparation. If yes, then watch May December, starring Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and Charles Melton.
The film is loosely inspired by real scandalous incident of an affair between a 34-year of
school teacher and her sixth-grade student in Washington.
May December starts off in present day, when an actress Elizabeth (played by Portman) travels to meet and study the controversial teacher, Gracie (played by Moore) whom she is set to play in an upcoming film.
We witness the infamous couple who’s been married for approximately 20 years, through the eyes, observations and research of Elizabeth who questions the foundation and truth about this marriage, just like the viewer.
The film is hauntingly slow but succeeds at building intrigue and curiosity by relying heavily on Portman’s performance, who is essentially slipping into another actress’ shoes – Julianne Moore.
This is where the May December gives us a profound insight into the mind of method actor and the sheer brilliance of a true artist, who can embody another human physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Elizabeth (or Portman) peels the layers of the story from various angles and shadows her subject intently to grasp its essence.
It may not be obvious for most of the run-time of the film, but don’t give up on it because the last 15 minutes or so will shock you.
You can almost feel the switch go off and the numbness within Elizabeth when she plays Gracie, using emotional and sensory memory.
It’s no surprise that not all actors subscribe to the approach of method acting as it can be difficult to shake off some complex characters.
