Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman’s new film May December has already achieved considerable Oscar buzz, with powerful performances from the two actors and Riverdale star Charles Melton. But, the plot of the film was partially inspired by a rather controversial tabloid story – the case of Mary Kay Letourneau.
While there’s been much conversation about how close May December‘s plot is to this shocking real-life story (more on that later), some of the similarities are undeniable.
May December follows the story of married couple Gracie (Julianne Moore) and Joe (Charles Melton), who are 20 years apart in age and have three children they’re about to send off to university. The scandal is this: their relationship began when Joe was thirteen and was working for Gracie at a local pet shop. Gracie went to prison for statutory rape, as did Mary Kay Letourneau in real life, back in the ’90s.
The dynamic that underpins their story, relationship and marriage is called into question when an actor (Natalie Portman) visits them for research, as she is set to play Gracie in a film based on their story. Meta, right?
© Sky UK Ltd
Who was Mary Kay Letourneau?
Back in 1997, Mary Kay Letourneau was a Seattle school teacher who made headlines (particularly in the US) for being convicted of raping her 12-year-old student, Vili Fualaau. She was 34 and married with children at the time. They had two children together before he turned 15, one of which was born in prison (Julianne’s character Gracie also gives birth behind bars, a story covered heavily by the tabloids). When Mary was released from prison, the couple fought a no-contact court order and married in 2005, separating in 2019. Mary died in 2020.
Mary has spoken publicly before, including her decision to violate parole to see Vili. “He called, and I came,” she said in an interview with Oprah in 1998. “I think, with all certainty, this young man is the love of my life, or I wouldn’t have done this to my children.”