Yesterday, the highly praised romantic thriller May December made its debut exclusively on Prime Video. Alongside Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman in the lead roles, the movie features Charles Melton, Elizabeth Yu, and Cory Michael Smith. Todd Haynes directed May December, which was based on a story by Alex Mechanikin and Samy Burch.
May December, a drama film nominated for an Academy Award, is based on the real-life story of actress Gracie. The film delves into the life of a controversial figure that Gracie is set to portray, drawing inspiration from the Mary Kay Letourneau incident. Gracie’s 23-year marriage with Joe, which began when he was 13 and she was 36, has brought her into the spotlight. The couple, still dealing with the aftermath of the scandal that rocked the nation two decades ago, now face further challenges as an actress arrives to delve into their past for a movie.
Out of the 363 films nominated by 106 British and foreign participants, May December secured the tenth spot in Sight and Sound’s selection of the top 50 films of 2023. Critics voiced their discontent over the absence of Portman, Melton, and Moore in the acting categories for the 96th Academy Awards, despite their recognition by other prestigious award bodies. Despite being inspired by a work of fiction, May December resembles a well-known real-life story. In February 1997, Biography detailed the scandal involving Mary Kay Letourneau, a school teacher, who engaged in an illicit relationship with her 13-year-old student, Vili Fualaau, starting in June 1996. Letourneau confessed in an interview with 20/20 that the inappropriate relationship began when Fualaau was just 12 years old, stating, “The incident was late at night, and it didn’t stop with a kiss… And I thought that it would, but it didn’t.”
