Natalie Portman‘s character of Elizabeth in her latest movie, the romantic drama May December, is presented as fragile, predatory and at times uncomfortable. The feature, which was directed by three-time Palme d’Or nominated filmmaker, Todd Haynes, will premiere in competition on May 20 at the Cannes Film Festival.
The upcoming movie is seeking distribution at the festival. The project is the first film from Portman’s new company, MountainA, with her French producing partner, Sophie Mas.
Portman’s character in the drama is an actress doing research to play Gracie, who’s portrayed by Julianne Moore, a woman at the center of a decades-old tabloid scandal. Gracie is married to Joe, (Riverdale actor Charles Melton), who’s23 years younger than she is. May December is an opportunity for Portman to dig into an old obsession.
During a recent interview she gave to The Hollywood Reporter during Cannes about the movie, Portman said: “I’m very curious about performance. It’s a topic that’s interested me and that I feel like I return to a lot in my work. The question of ‘Can art be amoral?'”
During the interview, the actress, who also served as a producer on May December, further shared that she has conflicted feelings about her breakout film, the 1994 action thriller, Leon: The Professional. In the past, she has discussed her traumatic experience shooting the movie and dealing with the response to the project, and is now reemphasizing her previous criticisms.
Portman’s big break as an actress came with the release of The Professional, which was written and directed by controversial filmmaker, Luc Besson. In the drama, the now--year-old Oscar-winning actress played Mathilda. The 12-year-old character becomes the protégée of the titular hitman, Léon, who was played by Jean Reno, after her family is murdered.
“It’s a movie that’s still beloved, and people come up to me about it more than almost anything I’ve ever made, and it gave me my career, but it is definitely, when you watch it now, it definitely has some cringey, to say the least, aspects to it,” Portman told The Hollywood Reporter in the interview, which was published yesterday. “So, yes, it’s complicated for me.”
Portman’s pre-teen character is enamored with the older Léon in the drama. She repeatedly professes her love for him throughout the story. In one scene, the actress, who’s wearing a revealing costume, sings Madonna’s first No. 1 single, Like a Virgin, to Léon. She later dresses up as Marilyn Monroe and delivering a sultry rendition of the actress’ famous performance of Happy Birthday (Mr. President).
In interviews, former child actress Maïwenn implied that the film was inspired by her relationship with the Paris-born Besson, which began when she was 15, the legal age of consent in France. She and Besson met when she was 12, the age of Portman’s character in The Professional. Maïwenn and the filmmaker were married between 1992-1997.
The Hollywood Reporter also asked Portman about allegations of sexual misconduct against Besson, who was accused of assaulting a woman in France in 2018. He denied the claim through a representative at the time. The case was later dismissed in 2021.
Portman called the allegations devastating and stressed that she was surprised by them. She added that she had no knowledge of such activity while working with Besson, who’s also known for directing the hit sci-fi movie, The Fifth Element, which was released three years after The Professional.
“I really didn’t know. I was a kid working. I was a kid,” Portman told the publication during the interview. “But I don’t want to say anything that would invalidate anyone’s experience.”