Who is Anne Hathaway?
If you were to pose that question not too long ago, there would be a perplexing number of people who would respond with bizarre vitriol. Though even mentioning it now is probably giving gossip of yesteryear far more credence than it's worth, it is something that feels particularly relevant to Hathaway's latest. This isn't because The Idea of You is autobiographical, it's more because of the way the film ends up being about societal expectations, especially for women. An adaptation of the romance novel by Robinne Lee that drew inspiration — in part — from Harry Styles, it tells a story of a woman who begins a relationship with a younger boy-band star after meeting him at Coachella. However its premise sounds to you on paper, if you look beneath the surface, you'll discover it's a film about aging, the pressures the world places on you and starting over again. That's all carried by Hathaway, who gives a typically nuanced performance.
This all begins with Hathaway's Solène as she navigates the various complications of her life. She has gotten divorced from her shitstain of an ex-husband (who got remarried to a younger woman), and is now trying to co-parent their daughter while running an art gallery she is passionate about. When Solène must step in and take said daughter to Coachella, she ends up meeting Hayes Campbell, played by Nicholas Galitzine of last year's breakout comedy hit Bottoms. Though his character's name sounds as fake as the music of his fictional band, the two become drawn together. After some initial hesitation on her part, they launch headfirst into a whirlwind romance. Soon, the fantasy of it fades away as a more reflective film takes hold. It makes for a surprisingly bittersweet romantic dramedy that, some contrivances aside, hits home.
None of this would work without Hathaway's ability to be wickedly funny, effortlessly charming and, most crucially, authentically vulnerable without missing a step. Even when the film starts to feel a little shaky and you can see the narrative strings being pulled to create rather forced conflict, she is the beating heart that makes you willing to forgive such flaws. For all the flak Hathaway has gotten in the past, her work in everything from Brokeback Mountain to Interstellar as well as the more recent Armageddon Time and Eileen shows she deserves more praise than she gets. She's always been able to give something special to even small supporting characters, capturing and conveying emotional strife — both external and internal — in just the small physical aspects of her performances. She turns The Idea of You into something that feels a great deal closer to a thoughtful character study about finding a way to be happy in a world that is more interested in tearing you apart.
With that being said, it is certainly not the best film she has ever done by any stretch of the imagination. The way it is shot, with strange split screen sequences during banal musical performances which undercut its strengths, often leaves much to be desired. On top of that, the ending starts to run out of steam and shy away from seeing through some of the deeper questions it seemed to initially be interested in exploring. While Hathaway's performance is consistently great, the film can't always live up to it. There's just too much left dangling at key points. It almost feels like the movie is nervous about going down the honest path and discovering more complicated and not always neat answers.
Still, The Idea of You does manage to provide an answer to the question of who Hathaway is: a talented performer who doesn't need to get your approval or push back against all the nonsense thrown her way. That this is captured in a film about a character realizing the same thing only makes the revelation all the sweeter and more sincere. As its title expresses, The Idea of You is a playful yet poetic rejection of all that has been placed on those like Hathaway by people who don't even know them. It still won't stop them from judging anyway, but that's fine. As Hathaway proves once more, the best things can come from keeping on your path. That's the most important idea of her. ♦
The Idea of You
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
Directed by Michael Showalter
Starring Anne Hathaway, Nicholas Galitzine
