Opening Bif&st 2024 this evening will be the acting challenge between two Oscar winners which takes place at great pace in May December by Todd Haynes (Carol, Far From Paradise), already in competition at Cannes and now in theaters from March 21st with Lucky Red.
Namely Julianne Moore, born in North Carolina 62 years ago, Oscar in 2015 for Still Alice, and Natalie Portman, 41 year old Israeli actress, Oscar in 2011 for Black Swan.
What are these two generationally different actresses doing together?
They share a story based on a screenplay by Samy Burch (former casting director and short film director) which tells of an actress named Elizabeth Berry (Portman) who has to play in a film Gracie Atherton-Yu (Moore), a woman who years earlier she caused a scandal by marrying Joe, a man twenty-three years younger played by Charles Melton (Riverdale).
This is the official synopsis of May December co-written from an original screenplay written by Samy Burch together with Alex Mechanik.
Twenty years after the scandalous love story filled the tabloids and kept an entire nation in suspense, the famous couple's marriage succumbs to pressure when a young actress contacts them to do the research for the realization of a film about their past.
In reality, the media scandal that had hit the couple, it will be discovered, was due to the fact that Joe, a boy of about sixteen, was Gracie Atherton-Yu's student, something that could give rise to a glimpse of possible plagiarism on the part of teacher or in any case an illegal situation.
And again, by entering the couple's life to better understand Gracie's personality, the actress inevitably alters the family balance, already agitated and in crisis due to the departure of their two twin children for college.
In short, family dynamics lose their foundation under the pressure of Elizabeth Berry's external gaze.
Add to this that Joe, having never really processed what happened in his youth, begins to face the reality of life with 'empty nest' syndrome at just thirty-six.
Finally, there are Elizabeth and Gracie who study each other, compare notes and at a certain point even tend to resemble each other.
All set in picturesque and comfortable Camden, Maine.
It must be said that Julianne Moore has already worked with Hayne in Safe, Wonderstruck and Far from Heaven, while it is the first time for Portman.
The cast is completed by: Piper Curda, Elizabeth Yu and Gabriel Chung.
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