Natalie Portman, Charles Melton and Julianne Moore chat to Melissa Nathoo about their performances in May December. Report by Nathoom. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
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00:00 What's it like being part of a film that is sparking so much conversation?
00:04 I can't go online any day and not see someone talking about this film.
00:09 That must be incredible.
00:10 I think we just all kind of go back to the 23 days we spent in Savannah, Georgia.
00:14 I mean, we had no rehearsal time and we all came together for 23 days
00:18 under Todd and told this story and, you know, that was the gift.
00:24 I mean, you're getting so much praise, which is rightly deserved.
00:27 But what was the process in your head of making yourself...
00:31 Like, you seemed like a little boy, but you weren't when you played him.
00:36 But the way you carried yourself, it was just something to behold.
00:41 Yeah, it just started with Sammy's script.
00:42 I mean, she laid out this beautiful road map for all these characters
00:46 and Joe's character and, you know, diving into who this man was
00:49 at such a young age, at 13, he was given this immense responsibility
00:53 of being a father and having to show up for his family and his kids
00:56 and being a provider and kind of just understanding this internal
01:00 kind of repressed tragedy that lived in Joe
01:04 and how that would manifest through his physical body
01:08 and how he would carry himself and protect himself
01:10 because, you know, emotions live in different parts of the body, I believe.
01:15 Amazing to watch.
01:16 Can we just talk about the score as well?
01:18 Because sometimes, I mean, it's brilliant,
01:21 but it's so comedic at some point and so devastating at others.
01:25 Yeah, it's just incredible.
01:27 It was one of Todd Haynes' most brilliant ways
01:31 that he expressed his vision for this movie, I think,
01:33 was repurposing the score from the 1971 film, The Go-Between,
01:38 that he watched when he was looking at inspiration for the movie.
01:42 And he played it for us while we were shooting,
01:45 so we were so clear on the tone of this movie,
01:47 which is so highly specific and really leads to that melodrama
01:52 where, you know, it can be a very subtle scene,
01:54 but you know that something much darker is going on.
01:58 And then, of course, allows for that humour and lightness
02:01 because life is absurd.
02:03 - Yeah. - You know?
02:04 Like, even the darkest things are funny.
02:08 Yeah. Actually, I did wonder whether he'd played it for you
02:10 or whether you just saw it in post,
02:12 but, yeah, I think it massively helps.
02:14 - Playing Gracie, - Yeah.
02:16 what is it like getting into that mind frame?
02:20 Because she has so many layers to her that you brought out so well.
02:25 Oh, thank you so much.
02:27 She's challenging.
02:28 She's definitely challenging because there's a narrative
02:31 that she's promoting that clearly is her own.
02:34 It's her own kind of storytelling.
02:36 So when you look at the facts of what actually happened,
02:39 which is that she had a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old
02:42 when she was 36,
02:43 so she's transgressed in this major way,
02:46 but she tells the story as if she was rescued,
02:49 that she's a princess who was rescued by a prince.
02:52 And in order to kind of make that palatable,
02:54 she has to make that prince, that boy, a man,
02:57 and she keeps herself forever a child.
02:59 So she has this presentation of naivete,
03:02 of innocence, of romance,
03:06 which, of course, is patently incorrect.
03:09 So I think the tension between what actually happened
03:11 and her narrative is so vast.
03:14 You know, I mean, there's so much room in there.
03:16 And so when she's alone, there's this incredible volatility,
03:20 you know, and shame and confusion.
03:22 So it was definitely a challenging part in that sense.
03:26 I mean, you did it incredibly well.
03:28 No, I keep saying that.
03:29 You don't get tired of hearing it
03:31 because you're going to hear it from everyone.
03:32 It's like in between every question,
03:33 I'm like, "This is a great film."
03:35 Thank you. Thanks.
03:36 If you were going to have someone,
03:39 I'm not saying play you,
03:40 but an actor come and study you to play you,
03:44 is there one thing about yourself
03:46 that you hope that they really get right?
03:48 Because in the film, Gracie's like,
03:50 "Make sure you get that right about me," for the film.
03:52 Is there one thing that you know you do
03:54 or something about yourself that you're like,
03:56 "I hope they get that right about me"?
03:58 Well, one thing I'll say about Gracie,
03:59 when she says, "Make sure you get that right,"
04:01 you know, Gracie is, you know,
04:04 she wants Elizabeth to see
04:06 what Gracie believes her truth to be.
04:08 That is not necessarily the truth.
04:11 And so if somebody came to observe you,
04:13 I think it would depend on what you wanted
04:15 to know about you.
04:17 You know, this movie is so much about performance,
04:20 so much about how we communicate who we are to the world
04:23 and what our signifiers are.
04:25 So the first question would be,
04:26 are you telling the truth or not?
04:28 And do you want that person to see the truth?
04:30 That was a good way of getting at you.
04:31 You know what I'm saying?
04:32 You know, you know, very well.
04:35 Guys, like, I'm going to say it again.
04:37 It's a great film.
04:39 Thank you.
04:39 You're going to hear it plenty,
04:40 and you deserve all the, like, critical acclaim
04:43 and everything that it's getting.
04:44 Thank you.
04:45 Thank you so much.