Ever since it debuted at Cannes back in May, one word keeps popping up when people describe Carol director Todd Haynes’ latest film May December – “camp”. If all you know about the movie is that it loosely draws from the true story of Mary Kay Letourneau, who served time in prison for having a relationship with a minor when she was a teacher, you may be initially surprised by this reaction. How can a film about such trauma be camp? Well, many reviews cite the dramatic musical cues, the quick zooms of the camera, the wickedly funny script, and the film’s many layers of satire as evidence of its campness.
It’s something that has caused much debate online, as people question whether May December really is camp? We therefore had to ask the film’s cast during our recent interview with them what they make of discussion, with star Julianne Moore (who portrays Gracie) saying that she believes there has been some consolidation here. She told the Inside Total Film podcast and 12DOVE: “It’s interesting to me as I have heard the term a lot. I think that it’s meant positively, but I do think there’s some conflation between camp and melodrama. From my understanding, I feel like this is a melodrama because it’s so filled with emotion. Camp meanwhile generally stands in for something that’s kind of a simulation, where there’s no real feeling. I don’t think this is that, and that’s not what Todd does. I think what he does so beautifully is he takes these very extreme, emotional, human situations and relationships, and dramatizes them - which truly is melodrama. But it’s funny - there are funny things in it because life is funny.”
Now, that is something that everyone who has watched May December is in agreement on – that it’s really funny, which again is a surprise given the subject matter it explores. That response from the audience was also unexpected for the cast, as actor Charles Melton (who plays Joe) tells us: “It just wasn’t funny when we were filming it at all! It didn’t feel like that as it’s so complex and deep, there’s so much tragedy in every character. So, it’s interesting seeing that response. I think there’s so many different emotions, sometimes it’s easier to laugh than to cry in the face of tragedy. It’s an instant release.”
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There is plenty of awkward, uncomfortable laughter in the film, which only increases as actor Elizabeth (played by Natalie Portman) becomes more and more absorbed into this world where no one has boundaries. The more Elizabeth studies Gracie the more she begins to mimic her, from every slight touch of the hair to how she holds herself. For Portman, it was rewarding being given the opportunity to work so closely with Moore, explaining that she has long admired her co-star: "It was such an incredible aspect of my character, and in real life, I watch Julianne and want to study her. I've admired her and been inspired by her for so long. We didn’t really have a rehearsal period so it was lucky that we were shooting relatively chronologically, and that Julianne is very generous in the way she performs. Whilst she was creating her character, she was thinking about what identifiable traits she could offer me to mimic. Her choices were incredible to observe, learn, and copy in real time."
Elizabeth's transformation is fascinating to watch - even the way she styles her hair subtly changes as she grows closer to Gracie. Part of that intimacy is an underlying sense of eroticism between the pair, which Moore believes is key to the struggle for dominance that is happening here: "It's a power struggle between the two women – whose story is going to be told and how will it be told? And seduction is another tool for dominance. They are both seducing each other, trying to draw one in, to gain power."
Portman adds that not only are their characters attracted to each other, but to themselves too: "They are so self-regarding, they are women who are looking at themselves in the mirror and when they see themselves reflected there they are attracted to it."
Camp or not camp? That transformation. The underlying eroticism. With so many layers to uncover, it still feels like we are only just scratching the surface of May December.
May December is in UK cinemas and on Sky Cinema now. Meanwhile in the US, it can be streamed on Netflix.
For more from our interview with Melton, Portman, and Moore, listen to the latest episode on the Inside Total Film podcast.
