Summary
- Elizabeth’s method of acting techniques is successful in her study of Gracie, revealing the complexities of shame, denial, and the art of imitation.
- The cast delivers an outstanding performance, particularly Portman and Moore, accompanied by a breakout performance by Melton.
- The ending exposes Elizabeth’s deception and manipulation in trying to understand the truth about Gracie, something she ultimately doesn’t appear to find.
The ending of Todd Hayne’s May December proved how successful Elizabeth Berry’s strange method acting techniques were in her study of Gracie Atherton. The new Netflix drama features performances of a lifetime from Portman and Moore, who make their first onscreen appearance together.
Charles Melton as Joe Yoo also leaves a mark in his breakthrough performance. The complex melodrama tackles shame, denial, and imitation through various lenses, masks, and reflective symbolism, resulting in a wonderfully textured yet accessible final product.
May December’s cast also features appearances by Cory Michael Smith and Piper Curda, who play two of Gracie’s children with separate fathers. Smith’s Georgie and Piper’s Honor offer exciting perspectives into the insular world of Gracie and Joe, making Elizabeth’s interest in their mom’s “messed up” story amusing.
1. How does May December end?
After Elizabeth obtains a letter that Gracie secretly wrote to Joe years ago, she recites it to immerse herself deeper into Gracie’s mindset. While she sees some genuine success, Joe is in turmoil and has a new perspective on his relationship with Gracie.
Although Joe has been happily invested in his relationship with Gracie, his sexually charged encounter with Elizabeth has unearthed feelings of curiosity in Joe that he finds hard to ignore. With him too young to be an empty-nester, Joe suddenly realizes how much of his life is ahead of him, yet also sees how constrained he is by this relationship with Gracie.
The May December saga reaches its climactic ending as Charlie and Mary Atherton-Yoo graduate from high school. Excitement and turmoil mix as they become the last two children to leave the nest, making Gracie and Joe empty-nesters.
And in the midst of all this, the memory of Elizabeth lingers, intensifying the emotions of the moment. Despite knowing no one outside the Atherton-Yoo family, Elizabeth appears at the graduation ceremony, flawlessly mirroring Gracie’s appearance and persona. But the honest Gracie has a final message for Elizabeth as she prepares to return to Hollywood carrying a piece of her in a notebook.
Gracie asks Elizabeth whether she believes she understands her, which Elizabeth attests she does. Gracie has one final trick up her sleeve, telling Elizabeth that her eccentric yet talented son Georgie should have never said that lie about her brothers molesting her as a child.
Elizabeth is shocked. She thinks Gracie wasn’t aware of her private exchange with Georgie when he shared that information. Gracie confirms that Georgie made up that “disgusting” story, which quietly infuriates Elizabeth as she realizes she’s been undermined and played by them, ultimately discrediting her “understanding” of Gracie.
“Insecure people are hazardous,” Gracie tells a stunned Elizabeth. “I’m secure; make sure you put that in there.”
The movie then cuts to Elizabeth on the set of the film. Given the camera’s point of view, complete with watermark and time codes on the screen, we watch the seduction scene at the pet shop.
We watch three different takes of Elizabeth as Gracie, holding a snake and seducing an actor playing Joe. The director believes the third take is the best and is ready to move on, but Elizabeth stops him and pleads to shoot one more take.
2. Elizabeth struggles to find her character in the last shot of the movie
It’s clear that Elizabeth no longer has a grasp on the surface after Gracie reveals Georgie’s lies. She cannot capture the same performance she did for her monologue after sleeping with Joe.
The final shot also conveys to the audience that the movie Elizabeth is starring in isn’t very high-end.
From Elizabeth holding a snake (a not-so-subtle way of making the Gracie character seductive) to the fundamental dialogue, Haynes is commenting on the absurdity of the lengths actors will go to for their prep work. Elizabeth begging for another take shows that she’s desperately trying to make a B-movie better than it inevitably will be.
This calls back to what Gracie asks Elizabeth before she leaves Savannah: “I wonder if any of this will have mattered for your movie?”
3. Gracie’s Scene With The Fox In The Woods Explained
On the morning of Charlie and Mary’s graduation, Gracie misses breakfast with her family and takes her shotgun to the woods with her dogs. She comes across a fox staring directly into her eyes. The two predators examine each other in stillness as Gracie appears to recognize something about herself and her life.
After that confrontation with Joe, she’s gone hunting with her dogs, and that big gun in her hand makes you wonder what or who she’s chasing. Those fears ultimately lead to nothing, though, as both Gracie and Elizabeth appear at the graduation, showing some personal happiness. Elizabeth’s happy she got what she needed for the movie, and Gracie’s glad she’s leaving.
The scene could also represent Gracie figuring out Elizabeth as the intellectual predator she is and the threat she possesses in killing her reputation with her Hollywood movie.
4. Did Georgie Lie About Gracie’s Brothers?
It’s challenging to figure out whether Gracie or Georgie was the one who lied to Elizabeth about Gracie’s brothers in May December.
On one hand, Georgie had an ulterior motive in offering that information to Elizabeth, asking for a job as a music supervisor on her film immediately after. Georgie may have fabricated that information about his mother to impress Elizabeth and get a job.
On the other hand, Gracie does talk about her brothers often in May and December, and Georgie’s information explains a lot about Gracie’s true character, which is all that Elizabeth cares about in the film.
5. The Real Meaning Of May December’s Ending Explained
Elizabeth’s distant gaze of confusion at the end of May December indicates that even after her intensive study of Gracie, she still doesn’t fully understand her. Georgie’s detail about Gracie’s brothers brought her to understand Gracie as a victim of abuse.
However, at Charlie and Mary’s graduation, Gracie throws a final wrench in Elizabeth’s interpretation of her, which completely flips the script by claiming that Georgie lied. Elizabeth feels deceived that Gracie and Georgie had communicated privately about their conversation, which signifies her naïveté and inflated self-importance.
Georgie’s honesty brings to light Gracie’s denial regarding her brothers and her seemingly “perfect” relationship with Joe. Gracie’s admission of naivety to Elizabeth unveils her protective facade and how it shields her from life’s harsh realities.
Therefore, anything that contradicts her outlook is deemed irrelevant and causes her to disconnect from reality. Ironically, in her dying moments, Gracie’s main request to Elizabeth was to ensure she appeared “stable” in their film. Elizabeth realizes that her reliance on Gracie as a source has been faulty, leading her to struggle to portray her character’s actual version in May December. Ultimately, this requires her to confront the truth.
6. About May December
May December is a 2023 American drama film directed by Todd Haynes from a screenplay by Samy Burch, based on a story by Burch and Alex Mechanik.
Loosely inspired by the story of Mary Kay Letourneau, the film follows an actress (Natalie Portman) who travels to Georgia to meet and study the life of the controversial woman (Julianne Moore) she is set to play in a film – the woman being infamous for her 23-year-old relationship with her husband (Charles Melton) whom she first met as a minor.
The film was announced in June 2021, with Portman and Moore joining the cast. Filming took place in mid-2022 around Savannah, Georgia. It premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2023, where the North American distribution rights were bought by Netflix.
May December was released in select theaters in the United States on November 17, 2023, before streaming on Netflix on December 1. It received widespread acclaim from critics.
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