May December
Highly praised despite being a profoundly overrated, boring film.
Despite loving the two female stars, Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, this movie is tedious beyond description. I remain astounded that Manohla Dargis from the New York Times and the Golden Globes picked it as one of the top ten films of 2023.
In summary, Julianne Moore plays a married mother of multiple children by her present and former marriage. Her present husband (Cory Michael Smith), is not only much younger, but you learn that she served time in prison for having an affair with him when he was a 7th grader.
Things get worse if that is remotely possible. Natalie Portman plays a Hollywood actress who meets them to enable her to accumulate relevant facts for a film about their past. People who hate Gracie (Ms. Moore) send packages containing excrement to her and you are tempted to do the same thing before the end of the film. (Just kidding. Should have used a better analogy!)
The movie drags on as you watch Ms. Portman interview Gracie’s first husband and children from both marriages. Her present husband looks like a decent guy who married Gracie after she got out of prison. The script reminded me of a presentence report done on a client charged with child molestation.
I had no sympathy, much less interest, in any of these characters. See if the movie doesn’t conclude with Portman having sex with Moore’s husband.
It remains shocking that credible critics picked this film as one of the year’s best. I respectfully find it to be one of the worst.
