News

Want to see: May December is coming soon to Netflix

By Wieke Veenboer | #!30Mon, 11 Sep 2023 15:15:29 +0200+02:002930#30Mon, 11 Sep 2023 15:15:29 +0200+02:00-3Europe\/Amsterdam3030Europe\/Amsterdam202330 11pm30pm-30Mon, 11 Sep 2023 15:15:29 +0200+02:003Europe\/Amsterdam3030Europe\/Amsterdam2023302023Mon, 11 Sep 2023 15:15:29 +0200153159pmMonday=9#!30Mon, 11 Sep 2023 15:15:29 +0200+02:00Europe\/Amsterdam9#09-11-2023#!30Mon, 11 Sep 2023 15:15:29 +0200+02:002930#\/30Mon, 11 Sep 2023 15:15:29 +0200+02:00-3Europe\/Amsterdam3030Europe\/Amsterdam202330#!30Mon, 11 Sep 2023 15:15:29 +0200+02:00Europe\/Amsterdam9#

Netflix had to dig deep into its pockets, but then you get something in return. Or better said: we get something, because we have to wait until December… That is the month when May December will be available online. Does that film sound familiar to you? That could be right, because it premiered last May at the Cannes Film Festival and received a standing ovation. This could very well be Netflix's best film of the year at the last minute.

The cast is definitely not the problem: Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, and Charles Melton. The director is Todd Haynes, and the script by Samy Burch was nominated for The Black List of 2020. But it is especially the story that catches my attention as a true crime enthusiast; I had heard of this case before and it was just a matter of waiting for a film to be made about it.

May December is based on the bizarre romance between teacher Mary Kay Letourneau and the then twelve-year-old Vili Falaau. That teacher was convicted for this love, but as soon as she was free again, they resumed their relationship. This took place twenty years ago, and the two are still together.

The teacher is played by Julianne Moore and the young boy by Charles Melton. Now I hear you thinking: he really can't pass for thirteen years old?! That's right: the film takes place after the romance. Natalie Portman plays an actress who travels to their hometown to study the relationship; she is going to play the lead role in a film being made about the couple. Very meta, very filmception, but it sounds really good.

May December is indeed based on the true story, but does not follow the events exactly. Letourneau and Falaau have stayed together, but the storyline of the actress is completely fictional. Coincidentally, they were in the news last week: their 24-year-old daughter is pregnant, so Falaau is becoming a grandfather — he is now 40 years old.

The romance between him and Letourneau began in 1996, when the teacher was 34 years old; a difference of 22 years. She will not be able to see May December herself, as she passed away in 2020 at the age of 58 from cancer. Falaau has since found a new love with whom he welcomed daughter Sophia in 2022. Although I doubt they will catch this film…