Portman and Moore are ‘fearless’, says writer

May December Writer Sami Birch tells PinkNews that Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman deliver “fearless” performances in Todd Haynes’ new drama, which she describes as “wonderful filmmaking.”

The twisted romantic drama follows Hollywood actress Elizabeth Berry (Portman) as she visits Gracie Atherton-Yu (Moore) and her husband Joe (Charles Melton) as she prepares to play Grace in a film about their lives.

The couple became embroiled in scandal 20 years ago when Gracie began an affair with 13-year-old Joe at a local pet store, which ultimately led to her being jailed. While Elizabeth visits their family to find out the real story behind the sensational headlines, Gracie and Joe are forced to confront the trauma at the heart of their relationship.

The morally gray themes of a film directed by an Oscar nominee Carol director Haynes – immediately caught Portman’s attention (Black Swan), writer Birch told PinkNews at the BFI London Film Festival. May December Premieres on Friday (October 6).

After Haynes and Moore signed on to the project, Birch says she witnessed the cinematic magic happening on set between the two leads, whose character dynamics are defined by unspoken tension and wary admiration.

“It was amazing. They’re both so great, but they’ve never worked together,” Birch said. “This is the first time and it was incredibly exciting to see. (Haynes) said Natalie’s sense of bravery and darkness reminded him of Julianne’s, and I think you can tell they’re fearless.”

Elsewhere, Birch spoke about the “amazing” experience of working with Haynes to bring her script to life.

“If you’re lucky enough to have Todd want to be in your movie, that’s honestly like the golden ticket,” she explained. “I have been a fan of each of his films for a long time. He is truly a great thinker and master, so it was a very exciting phone call for me.”

She continued, “(It was) such an incredible learning experience and he is so thoughtful. Every choice he makes has a reason behind it, and as a director he has to make a lot of them, it’s truly amazing to watch his confidence, courage and encyclopedic knowledge of filmmaking. Everything was wonderful.”

May December will be released in UK cinemas on 17 November and on Sky Cinema on 8 December.