I am not big on romance (watching). But two films on almost the same theme hitting the same streamer (Prime Video) within days of each other had me intrigued. One is a much-talked-about rom-com — more rom than com, coupled with complications — which heralds the return of a much-loved darling of the genre and flaunts a male lead who has become a staple on thirst-trap Instagram reels. The other is a far more complex, critically-acclaimed film from last year which landed an Oscar nomination.
The Idea of You stars Anne Hathaway as a 40-year-old single mother who gets swept up in a whirlwind romance with the 24-year-old front man of a boy band, played by Nicholas Galitzine. The other ‘May-December’ film is, well, May December, a dark and far more complex look at the illicit romance between a 36-year-old mother-of-two and a seventh grader, which resulted in a criminal case, time spent in prison and fractured relationships which changed more than one family forever. May December is anchored by a lived-in performance from Julianne Moore and boasts Natalie Portman, another Oscar-winning actress, in its cast.
The Idea of You and May December may seem similar. Both are about older women in a relationship with much younger men (in one case, a boy). But scratch below the surface and one will find two films that have a tonally different approach to their prickly subject matter.
The Idea of You, based on the eponymous novel by Robinne Lee, has a lightness of touch and yet an intoxicating headiness at its core. It focuses on Solene’s (Anne Hathaway) impetuous romance with Hayes (Nicholas Galitzine), who she meets by chance when a last-minute change in plans compels her to accompany her teenaged daughter to Coachella where Hayes’s August Moon — the band that Solene’s daughter Izzy (Ella Rubin) was once a major fan of but now describes as “so seventh grade” — is performing.
Solene and Hayes feel an instant attraction, he pursues her relentlessly and she gives in in a moment of reckless abandon. She accompanies him on tour across Europe, their connection not defined by just their sexual chemistry. But living life in a fishbowl — paparazzi, fans and groupies are at every corner for a heartthrob like Hayes — means that Solene is quickly branded a cougar and their relationship goes through the predictable beats of judgment, misunderstanding and heartbreak. However, the film, directed by genre veteran Michael Showalter, moves away from the book to adopt a feel-good ending.
Julianne Moore and Charles Melton in May December
The Idea of You, despite its occasional heaviness, is treated more or less like a romantic comedy or, at least, as an annexe or subset of the genre. Hathaway, whose filmography has been defined by many sparkling hits in the genre, still makes for a refreshing leading lady and her chemistry with the conventionally handsome Galitzine is sizzling.
The film is mostly an easy watch that doesn’t demand much from the viewer and guarantees more than a smile. You find yourself rooting for this May-December romance which does well in putting female desire in the spotlight, brings sex back into the genre but without letting it crawl over into Fifty Shades of Grey territory and mostly flips the idea of a rom-com on its head. The Idea of You is ultimately a crowd pleaser, a satisfying watch that you can curl up with on your sofa (with or without an arm candy) and watch with a big tub of (non-overpriced, non-multiplex) popcorn.
May December, on the other hand, is heavy from the onset. Whispered secrets, a relationship on the edge and a past with an overwhelming tendency to overshadow the future, makes this Todd Haynes film a bit of an uneasy watch, but not in a bad way. Haynes, the man behind critically acclaimed Cate Blanchett starrers like I’m Not There and Carol but known for much more over the last few decades, expertly balances the true crime-inspired elements of May December with moments of twisted humour.
Almost a decade after they worked together in Safe — a film often cited as a shining example of feminist counter-cinema — Haynes reunites with Julianne Moore. Moore is Gracie, a woman in her late 50s in small-town Savannah, who was in the middle of a raging tabloid scandal a few decades ago. Caught having sex with the 13-year-old friend of her teenaged son in the pet store where they both worked, the then 30-something Gracie spent time in prison, giving birth to her and Joe’s child in jail. Now, 23 years later, Gracie and Joe (Charles Melton) are married with three children: Honor, who is in college, and twins Charlie and Mary, who are about to graduate from high school. What rocks an already unsteady boat and sends relationships unravelling is the arrival of Elizabeth (Natalie Portman), an actress playing Gracie in an independent film, who lands up to spend time with the family in order to know and observe them.
A far more intricately mounted story than The Idea of You, May December walks a tricky tightrope in terms of tonality. Haynes has often been described as the ‘master of impossible drama’ and in this film, which in many ways can be regarded as a companion piece to Safe, he doesn’t play it safe. May December is allowed to fully embrace its provocative spirit even as each of its players navigates through a morality puzzle.
In a film dominated by its female leads — that scene of Moore applying make-up on Portman in a room where their reflections in the mirror seem to be of people who are not really themselves, is a pure masterclass — it is Joe, played by a heartwarming Melton with a perpetual hangdog expression exemplifying his crisis of identity and the fact that he has been living a life which is “more than just a story”, who demands empathy. Haynes’s subversive pastiche is all the more enriched by his revelatory performance.
