The Best Films We Saw at NYFF 2023

A stickier, more startling film than its tongue-in-cheek title might suggest, Todd Haynes’ May December is less a comedy about scandal than its quiet, haunting aftermath. The story follows Natalie Portman’s Elizabeth, a well-known actress, as she lands in Savannah, Georgia to spend a few weeks with Joe Yoo and his much older wife, Gracie Atherton Yoo—a couple that met when the former was in sixth grade, igniting a national tabloid sensation. Now, Natalie is preparing to take on the role of Gracie in a film adaptation of their story; but getting inside Gracie’s head will necessitate Elizabeth embedding in the family itself, and challenging the simple life Gracie so carefully constructed.—Lauren Puckett-Pope, culture writer

In select theaters November 17 and streaming on Netflix December 1.