Husbear and I finally watched the latest Todd Haynes last night. I can't find a thread dedicated to it other than the one about Charles Melton's prosthetic boner.
We both really loved it. In a year when a lot of the event/awards-bait movies are over-the-top/ambitious/BIG (Barbie, Oppenheimer, Killers of the Flower Moon, Poor Things, Maestro, Color Purple), here's an intimate comedy/drama that tells its story with restraint and purposeful omission. Haynes (who I've always loved) comes across here as a mature, confident filmmaker with little need to shock, bludgeon or exhaust his audience (ahem, Lanthimos, Nolan, Scorsese). He can effortlessly shift from comedy of manners to subtle camp to real pathos and sadness, often in a single scene.
Moore and Portman were both utterly terrific but Melton was the real revelation here. The second half of the film belongs to him, and turns what could have been a pathetic joke character into a realistic, sympathetic person. I hope this guy has a big career.