Todd Haynes’ May December is the kind of film that sounds like it was engineered in a lab specifically for gay film buffs to obsess over.
From the acclaimed director of timeless queer classics like Carol and Velvet Goldmine, the film is a campy melodrama about an actress who arrives in a small town to study the woman she’ll be playing in a biopic, who years earlier became a tabloid star thanks to her romance with someone much younger.
Screen icons Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore play the lead roles, respectively, but there’s one more star who has us especially excited: Hunky actor on the rise Charles Melton!
Yes, as if the prospect of a Portman-Moore showdown wasn’t enough to get the gays to the theater, Haynes is also giving us some major eye candy in the form of Melton.
At 32, the Alaskan-born actor is thus far best known for The CW’s “hot Archie” show, Riverdale, where he plays Reggie Mantle, the longtime “best frenemy” of the Archie Comics.
When Riverdale became a massive hit, fans wondered which members of its hot, young cast would breakout to become a major A-list star, and it sure seems like Melton is about to have his moment just as the drama is about to wrap up its seventh and final season.
Melton’s earliest credits include guest spots on Glee and American Horror Story, and, since Riverdale, he’s also headlined his own romantic comedy, The Sun Is Also A Star, featured in the 2020 blockbuster Bad Boys For Life, and appeared in an episode of Peacock’s Natasha Lyonne mystery series, Poker Face.
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But May December sounds like it’ll be Melton’s biggest critical hit to date, starring as a young married man named Joe, who met his wife (played by Moore) when he was just a teen, creating a media controversy.
After it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this past weekend, May December received rave reviews, with many singling out Melton’s dramatic performance. According to Vanity Fair, the actor “ably provides the heart—and heartbreak—of the film,” while Indiewire hails his “well-modulated” and “moving” work.
Here’s more of what critics are saying about Melton’s work in the movie:
Anyway, we’re just thrilled to see a whole lot more of Melton on our screens, social media feeds, or anywhere, really. Scroll on below for a few more of our favorite shots from the breakthrough actor’s Instagram:
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FreddieW
Julianne Moore is fantastic. But if Natalie Portman is a gay icon, this is the first I’ve heard of it. She looked great in that makeup and in those costumes in The Phantom Menace, but that’s the last movie of hers I appreciated. Haven’t even watched the last Thor movie because the poster art looks so ridiculous.
theaterbloke
The last Thor movie was a waste in many ways starting with its uneven tone, but Portman was very good in it. And while I might not go out of my way to see a film that she’s in, I’ve never been disappointed with her work.
storm45701
Someone needs to see The Black Swan …
Kangol2
I think she’s considered a gay icon because of her performance in The Black Swan, which I could watch over and over. She gives everything in that role!
Ken A.
This site is so fickle, this week they’re worshipping Reggie from Riverdale, last week they worshipped some other guy, and you all are talking Portman and Moore.
theherald
So to sum up, absolutely nothing about this movie is gay. But hey, at least you got your clicks.
Diplomat
Yeah, after watching a few mins it became obvious and i turned the channel.
Brian
Why would you think that the movie is gay? It’s based on a real story of an adult woman who raped a boy. It was all over the news for many years. Heterosexuality is the entire point of the story.
m
Melton, Ross Butler, Chai Hansen are all hot!
BLAKENOW
OK .. so let me get this straight so you think it’s OK to lust after straight men in the movies but
it’s not OK for a straight man to play gay men in a movie
but then if you “writers” at Queerty get your way (God forbid) and
Real gay actors will only play gay men in movies, then gay men will never be able to play anything else but being gay in movies hence, way less work for gay actors.
Do you all see how stupid all of this BS talk has been ?
bachy
Loved Natalie ever since “Natalie Raps – SNL Digital Short”. Google it if you haven’t already seen it. She’s done several more since the original, all funny.
SDR94103
oh good lord, you twinks are nuts.
bigdandd
Looks like just ANOTHER yawner from Todd Haynes!
Kangol2
I’ve heard it’s really good, especially Julianne Moore and Charles Melton. Portman usually gives a great performance too so I’m assuming she’s good in this one too.