Natalie Portman and Todd Haynes discuss May December at Cannes

Director Todd Haynes and Natalie Portman at Cannes (Scott Garfitt/Invision/AP)

In Todd Haynes’ tonally shape-shifting May December, the first announcement of the movie’s playful intentions comes with a theatrical zoom in, a few lushly melodramatic piano notes and the frightful announcement that there no more hot dogs in the fridge.

That moment, which Haynes says signals “that there’s something coy happening in the language of the film”, is just a taste of what’s to come in May December, a delicious and disquieting drama laced with comedy and camp that Haynes premiered over the weekend at the Cannes Film Festival.