Whilst Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” had the longest standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival this year at nine minutes, two further screenings since then have yielded similar reaction.
Todd Haynes’ “May December” and Karim Aïnouz’s “Firebrand” have both scored eight-minute standing ovations over the weekend as the star-studded dramas explore very different kinds of stories about a relationship.
“May December” is a melodrama about the twenty-year romance between a married couple (Julianne Moore, Charles Melton) whose relationship was once tabloid fodder. Said relationship buckles under the pressure when an actress (Natalie Portman) arrives to do research for a film about their past.
“Firebrand” stars Alicia Vikander as Catherine Parr, the sixth and final wife of King Henry VIII (Jude Law), who uses her position to push for a new future based on her radical Protestant beliefs – all whilst managing to survive a king who beheaded two previous wives, divorced two others, and another died.
To put the length of the ovations in comparison, last year saw two films get comparable ovations – Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” at twelve minutes, and Ruben Ostlund’s “Triangle of Sadness” at eight minutes. Guillermo del Toro holds the record for the longest-ever standing ovation at Cannes with “Pan’s Labyrinth” generating twenty-two minutes of applause.
“May December” is already charting on Rotten Tomatoes with a 92% (7.6/10) and has been described as both dark camp and multi-layered psychodrama with a lot of love for the performances.
