In Savannah, Georgia, 2015, Gracie Atherton-Yoo (Julianne Moore), her much younger husband Joe Yoo (Charles Melton) and children host a relaxed BBQ for Gracie’s friends and baking customers. Soon, actress Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman) arrives to start researching Gracie who, in 1992 at the age of 36, started a relationship with Joe when he was 13 years old.

Shot softly with a grain, the content is anything but. Gracie is depicted as a complex but strong character who lives her life without regrets with no reminiscing of her scandalous past. Viewing her transgression as a misadventure on the way to true love, it seems that Gracie’s picture-perfect family and lifestyle are the said proof in the pudding. Enter empath Elizabeth who doggedly investigates Gracie holistically, concentrating on her life, her past, and social environment. By digging deeper into Gracie’s family and friends, a potentially narcissistic character starts to form, as does a story that may resemble an uncomfortable, and not-discussed, truth.

Unlike the thrillersque Una (2016), the movie’s tone is that of a dark comedy, using camp to balance the story’s more uncomfortable aspects. As in Perfect Blue (1997) and Black Swan (2010), Portman’s blank slate unnervingly starts to take colour when taking on Gracie’s mannerisms and looks in her all-consuming search of the truth. Meanwhile, Gracie starts to break down behind the scenes.

Verdict: A great character study with a quiet but strong performance by Melton and another Oscar contender in Portman. 3 stars.

Luke McWilliams, themovieclub.net. Viewed at Dendy cinemas