Todd Haynes has been one of my favorites since the short and haunting “The Karen Carpenter Story” and “Safe”. I haven’t loved all of his work but I always look forward to a new one. They’re not all easy to watch. For me, the lingering camera style is overdone in many so that I find myself anticipating the frames to change. Certainly there’s a common denominator in many of his films, scenes often look almost identical to scenes in his others films but I think with like many directors, he has a very signature style. I would think that people view his films knowing what to expect. They’re definitely not for everyone. “May” held my attention not due to the topic as much as the performances, as another poster here said, especially of the actors in secondary roles. The leads were perfectly cast and offered stellar performances. I was truly convinced that Gracie, who I found at times very likeable, had no real concept of her actions being not only predatory but illegal. The film first invites us to view the “normalcy” of the relationship, perhaps comparing the our own, and challenges our preconceived ideas of what’s abnormal. The sedond half, though, reveals behaviors and characteristics that cause us to return to what we think we believe is safe and moral and right and normal as taught by society. As a side note, I felt the monarch storyline was too obvious for Haynes to employ.