The jury will have a hard time deciding between the performances of Natalie Portman, who co-produced the film, and Julianne Moore in May-December by Todd Haynes. The first plays an actress preparing for a role. The second interprets the woman that the actress is supposed to embody, a mother who has been in prison years before for having seduced a 13-year-old teenager.
“We talked a lot between us, explains Natalie Portman during the press conference of the film, this Sunday. The film was put together very quickly and we only had a few days to build our performances together. It may look simple but it is a very complex process. There’s no doubting it all the less as their performances are of great finesse.
A dizzying abyss
His role in May-December reminded Natalie Portman of the work she had done to jackie by Pablo Larrain where she transformed into Jackie Kennedy. “The creative process my character goes through is quite similar to what I did then,” she recalls. Even if the actress she plays goes further by swallowing up the life of her model without the slightest qualm.
“I’ve also been interested in cases similar to those experienced by the character of Julianne, women who slept with kids and started a family with their lover,” she says. I even read tabloids with headlines like “Punished for Love” to educate myself on what character my character should play. »
This dizzying mise-en-abîme is one of the film’s strengths as it fascinates and questions the viewer both about the news item evoked by the film and about the profession of actor. “I watched Julianne act as if she was not playing a character but as if she was really someone whose movements I should reproduce in front of the camera. I enjoyed studying it,” says Natalie Portman. It’s hard to believe that the two actresses barely knew each other before filming as they seem to be accomplices. They are so astonishing that the jury would be well advised to share an interpretation prize with them.