In the movie Great Great Great a young couple’s decision to get engaged threatens to break them apart.
Most relationship movies are about fiery beginnings and endings, but the reality is that most of us are somewhere in the middle. Our relationships aren’t underscored by symphonies of strings and romantic declarations, and they don’t end in a murderous rage. They’re just fine, most of the time. Until they’re not.
In the span of Lauren and Tom’s five-year relationship, they’ve never had a fight. Their sex life is fine. They get along fine. Everything is fine. At least it seems that way, until Lauren’s parents announce their divorce. Lauren is shaken because she suddenly sees a lifetime of “just fine” yawning ahead of her and Tom, and it immediately makes her hungry for a better, fuller future. She just has to decide what “better” really means. One moment she resolves to double down on her commitment to Tom, and the next moment she’s ready to blow the whole thing up. So she does what any reasonable person would do. She doesn’t choose. She does both. In a doomed attempt to have everything she wants without giving anything up, Lauren simultaneously starts an affair with her boss, rents a bachelor apartment, and asks Tom to marry her. When they start to plan the wedding, and her no-strings affair gets complicated, Lauren struggles to save what’s most important to her before she loses it all.
At the deliciously queasy core of Great Great Great is the lead performance by newcomer Sarah Kolasky, who delivers a vulnerable and deeply relatable portrait of a woman who makes us squirm with discomfort while asking us to love some of the most unlovable parts of ourselves.
