In the opening moments of Todd Haynes’s May December, scandalous tabloid subject-turned-homemaker Gracie (Julianne Moore) opens a refrigerator, dramatically accompanied by a sudden piano sting and an ominous camera zoom.
The twist? They might not have enough hot dogs for their upcoming cookout.
If that strikes you as funny, you’re not alone. This is a film that reportedly had audiences laughing out loud during its debut, a story the New York Times called “the most fun film” at Cannes 2023. And yet, it’s also a film based on the horrifying real-life story of a sexual predator and her child victim — and since, as we recently learned, the production didn’t consult the victim, Vili Fualaau, there are inevitable gaps between fiction and real life that make it a complicated, difficult film to interpret.
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