May December: there is something potentially interesting in Todd Haynes’s melodrama as it follows the aftermath of a scandal, where a much older woman seduced a middle-schooler boy, as something is potentially interesting also in the preparations of the actress who will portray her in a film decades later. And yet, the whole manages to be cold; partly, because the characters are not very sympathetic and partly because the narrative is so clinical. Composer Marcelo Zarvos’s music does a lot of heavy lifting, trying to enhance the film’s melodrama. Julianne Moore plays the complicated, non-apologetic older woman; clearly a master of manipulation, also clearly emotionally troubled; it’s a nice performance. Natalie Portman plays the actress and manages to emulate Moore well enough, but she’s also someone with her shields up most of the time. Charles Melton plays the adult version of the young boy, and it’s a stiff performance. Cinematographer Christopher Blauvelt has several beautifully framed and thematically rich images. Editor Affonso Gonçalves moves the story along without any waste.