"May December," the latest film directed by Todd Haynes, is a critical darling.
The movie is a certified hit with a critics score of 92% and an audience score of 93% on the review-aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes at the time of this article's publication.
Starring Julianne Moore as Gracie Atherton-Yoo and Joe Yoo Charles Melton as Joe Yoo, "May December" centers on a couple with a 23-year age gap, whose relationship has parallels to the 1997 real-life sexual abuse scandal involving teacher Mary Kay Letourneau and her then 12-year-old student Vili Fualaau.
The film is set more than 20 years after Gracie, then married and 36 years old, had an affair with Joe, a seventh grader who worked in the same pet shop as her. The couple seems content with their suburban life in Savannah, Georgia, until a TV actor named Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman) spends time with the pair in preparation to portray Gracie in an upcoming movie about their inappropriate romance.
As Elizabeth becomes more immersed in her research and Gracie and Joe's dynamic, tensions rise among the film's main trio.
"May December" is currently playing in select theaters and will be released on Netflix on Friday. Here's what critics are saying about it. from the film's mixed tone to rave reviews for Melton, who recently won the Gotham Award for his supporting performance.