May December’s Unsettling & Ambiguous Ending Explained By Natalie Portman & Julianne Moore

Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore explain May December’s unsettling, ambiguous ending. The film, directed by Todd Haynes, explores the relationship between Gracie (Moore) and Joe (Charles Melton), whose age gap, having met when the latter was only 13 years old, became a national scandal. When actor Elizabeth Berry (Portman) inserts herself into these characters’ lives, researching their marriage for an upcoming role, things become even more complicated. In May December’s final minutes, audiences saw Elizabeth begin shooting her movie, but what happened to Gracie and Joe after her departure was left unclear.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Portman and Moore discussed the ending of May December. Portman touched on the reenactment scene between Elizabeth and her young co-star, but revealed that Joe’s story was more compelling. Moore added that it was a decision not to explain what became of Gracie and Joe, stating: “We don’t really give an answer.” Read Portman and Moore’s comments regarding the end of May December below:

Portman: “They’re shooting a tacky scene. You can tell that it’s intentionally not the highest quality. It’s like — all of this drama and interfering with someone’s life for this movie? It puts a cap on the tragedy of it, of what people are willing to do for their alleged art and the tumult they can impose on someone else’s life. What’s more salient to me is to think about what happens to Joe. That’s really the heart of it. These two callous, manipulative women try to convince him of their version of the truth — because whatever he subscribes to will be the one that is true. He has to decide what to do with his life after these two women stand off.“

Moore: “People really want to know. We don’t really give an answer. That’s the thing about the end of this movie — there’s no exhale. There’s only an inhale.“

What Happens At The End Of May December?

When Georgie (Cory Michael Smith) informed Elizabeth about Gracie’s childhood and suggested that she has been abused, it didn’t seem to change Elizabeth’s opinion on the scandalous relationship, considering she was intimate with Joe shortly after. It likely affected how she understood Gracie’s behavior as a performer, though, and heading into the final scenes, she seems to be comfortable in her approach to the role. However, when the two women confronted each other for the last time, Gracie claimed that Georgie lied, and it remains uncertain whether he actually did or not.

Elizabeth’s realization that everything she learned about Gracie and Joe might have been false was disturbing, and destabilized her on the set of her new movie. Following multiple takes of the stockroom scene in which Gracie seduces Joe, Elizabeth asked to go again, noting how the moment was only just starting to feel authentic. While Portman pointed out that the “tacky” nature of the production calls the invasiveness of her research into question, May December‘s final scene also makes it seem like she ultimately failed to understand Gracie, and was thus struggling to find the on-screen authenticity she was looking for.

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By ending May December with Elizabeth’s reenactment, audiences are left to wonder about Gracie and Joe’s future; as Portman explained, Joe has a lot to figure out. As the movie progressed, he began to question his relationship and what life would be like without his children, and with no concrete answer given, it can be difficult to imagine what he might’ve chosen to do next. According to Moore, forcing the viewer to sit in this discomfort was exactly the filmmakers’ intention.