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Adventures in Movies! Looks at... 'The Giant' (2019)
Aug 15, 2024
A few weeks back, the team at Adventures in Movies! lamented the lack of gothic horror movies. 2019's The Giant has some elements of southern gothic in its story. Blake and Nathaniel discuss how it also is a coming of age, ghost story, and murder mystery. Does it sound like there is a little too much going on here? The two discuss how well everything comes together.
SPOILER WARNING!
The Giant will be available on digital and on demand November 13.
Adventures in Movies! is hosted by Nathaniel Muir, Blake, and Danny. You can find Nathaniel on Instagram at nathaninpoortaste. Danny can be found on Twitter @default_player and on Instagram at default_player. Blake can be found on Twitter @foureyedhorror and on Instagram at foureyedhorror. You can reach us personally or on Twitter @AiPTMovies.
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0:00
Welcome to another episode of Adventures and Movies
0:14
This week I'm joined by one of the hosts of Adventures and Movies
0:20
Just me. I'm Blake. Hello. And I'm Nathaniel. And thank you everyone again for joining us
0:26
This week we're looking at The Giant. The Giant is a psychological thriller about a woman named Charlotte who's about to leave her small southern town
0:36
She's about to head off to college. It's been about a year since her boyfriend mysteriously disappeared
0:42
Now he's back. Along with his return is a murder spree. The movie is about whether one thing has to do with the other
0:52
So the Giants. It shifts a lot. It goes between the past, because he's present
0:58
dreams, reality. What did you think of the constant shifting? I did not like it. I actually think, yeah, from the get-go, I had a hard time following it
1:14
Right. I agree with you. I thought some of the dream sequences when I realized they were dream sequences, after the fact I was like, oh, wow, that was really nicely shot type of thing
1:25
I agree. Yeah, that was actually some of the more cool. some of the more cool shots and stuff
1:30
come from those sequences for sure. Yeah, absolutely. In the beginning, I think they work really well
1:35
As the movie goes on, they kind of become less effective, I think
1:40
And I agree with you. Really hard to follow. Really, really hard to follow
1:45
So what did you think of this story then? So it's kind of a..
1:53
And it's not like I don't appreciate this kind of thing. it was like part southern gothic part like loss of innocence like some stuff that i that's usually
2:03
and can be very good um i i don't the story itself i never know i never knew what the where it was
2:12
what the direction it was trying to lead me i felt like it was pulling me in two different or too many
2:18
different directions see that and that's kind of what i was leaning towards also um i agree with you
2:24
I was saying coming of age story. And slight spoilers here. We won't ruin anything for anybody
2:30
You can go out and watch us, but we will touch on things that are important to the plot
2:34
But coming of age story, like you said, lots of innocence, ghost story, kind of
2:39
Yeah. Southern, there's Southern Gothic tones to it. And you're right. And then it's a mystery, too
2:48
because there's this killing spree going on. So I thought you're right
2:52
I agree with you. Like, it was a little bit too all over the place, and it was like it didn't know what
2:58
Actually, I think it did know what it wanted to do. I think it wanted to leave these questions unanswered for the audience
3:04
That's unfortunate. It is, because sometimes that we've talked about it, sometimes it's cool when a movie ends, or even as you're watching it, you're thinking, and you reach that aha moment
3:13
You have that epiphany, and it all comes together, and maybe you're right, maybe you're wrong, but it's fun
3:19
And that's what, like, fan theories are all about. Right. and in this case it kind of needed more substance i thought
3:25
100% a case of style over substance throughout so what did you say this goes back into the story
3:33
what did you think of the pacing of everything and there's a lot going on yeah no i i thought it started off at a good clip actually
3:41
and so this movie so uneven at times the pacing is great and one scene leads to the next
3:48
really well And then there times where large chunks of the movie are cut weird Is it an editing thing Maybe No the pacing the pacing while at times was good it was not consistent
4:06
I think it was very distracting. Yeah. Like it was, and then you're right at the beginning
4:10
it's pretty interesting. You're wondering, okay, like one of the weird things about it
4:14
and I guess this is more dialogue than pacing. And it seems like everybody is talking in
4:19
Like they're referring to things in the past constantly. They're not finishing sentences really
4:24
So you're kind of, like you're supposed to be in on it. And you're really not
4:29
I completely agree. And also it stood out to me. The dialogue stood out to me because I was like
4:35
we were all teenagers. I'm sorry. Nobody ever as a teenage person talk like that
4:41
And if they did, it's like it was a joke. Like no, this was it was, it was too, it was like too outside of
4:49
of the realm of what I thought was believable in the way their conversations worked
4:54
how they interacted with one another. I don't know, it was way too danksty. It was, it was like
5:01
what's that show on each people? It was like true detective meets Dawson's Creek
5:05
That's a very, that's a very good way of it. Because parts of it, you're like, okay
5:11
supernatural mystery maybe, and then other parts of it, you're like, okay, this is total young adult tween BS
5:18
Like, like when, so she's the narrator. Charlotte Odessa Young is the narrator
5:23
And then there's lines like, I look back on my past and now I can't wake up
5:31
Like, all right. So Odessa Young, Charlotte, I might be wrong, but I think she's in every single scene in this movie
5:39
She has to be. Yeah. It's told from her point of view. It's almost like a found footage type thing
5:45
So what did you think of her performance? performance. You know, the acting stood out as being good. I thought she was very good at times. The other
6:00
Olivia, Madeline Klein, thought she was really good. We discovered Val Kilmer's son, Jack Kilmer
6:08
is also a semi-major player in this film. And you know what? Overall, I thought the acting was good
6:14
Odessa Young, I thought particularly, did a pretty good job. I think she did a really good job, but I think she was a little bit limited by the script
6:22
because basically that job amounted to confusion and fear. It is basically it
6:27
And sadness, yes. And then the other person you mentioned, Madeline Klein, Olivia, I thought she was the only fleshed-out character
6:36
Yeah. That's a good point. That's a very good point. You would think our main character would be
6:42
Yeah, it was weird. She had, I mean, she did well. with what she was given, but very limited
6:47
And then Olivia is the actual, she has like different emotions that she goes through
6:53
She has a very interesting arc almost, kind of. Yeah. For me, right, right
7:00
So what did you, they definitely were going for an atmosphere in this movie
7:04
What did you think of the atmosphere of the giant? You know, that's kind of one of the things like
7:09
as the movie progressed, I was like, do I love it or do I hate it
7:14
You know, because like I like dark atmosphere. Also, again, an extremely dark film
7:23
Like, you had to watch this at night with the lights all off. Otherwise, you were going to, there was literally stuff you wouldn't be able to see
7:30
And so that's a good thing and a bad thing. If you're doing clever and neat stuff with that, then it's awesome
7:37
I don't think they use the atmosphere to its full potential, to be honest with you
7:41
I agree with you. but I also think the atmosphere is one of the better things that they did Like it does It the most consistent Exactly It is the most consistent They set a really nice tone in the beginning
7:54
I'd say the first, I don't know, 15, 20 minutes. It's really good
7:59
Like you're into it. It slows to a crawl after that. And then, I don't know, it kind of just, it loses its way
8:06
But I do think this. I think the highlight of the movie, and it should be the highlight
8:10
is when they're having the climatic summer party in that house. and the whole movie has been teasing
8:16
that a storm is coming, that a storm is coming and then it's getting closer and closer
8:21
and then the storm finally comes. I thought the buildup to that was very well done
8:26
I would agree. That whole part of the movie, I guess that's the third act
8:31
The second act kind of bleeds into the third act, and it's kind of this one mishmash. But the, yeah, the party
8:37
the way that's set looks, the light flare, and just like how sweaty everybody is
8:44
That was awesome. I thought that was really well. Yeah, it really made you feel like, yeah, they're in the south. It's hot. And yeah, I completely agree
8:53
It's that's also, and this is where we were talking earlier about how it has all these elements to it. That seems like the point when it returned to Southern Gothic because it hadn't been for a good 30 or 40 minutes. It was kind of a weird turn. One of the focuses, at least one of the things I got out of it is the movie is about Charlotte. It's about a person's
9:14
unraveling, basically. That's what I got out of it. Did you get the same thing out of it
9:19
And if so, do you think it was done well? Yeah, I guess that is what it is
9:28
Yeah, you're watching a person come apart at the seams for various reasons. Right
9:32
And was it done well? I have a hard time saying it was done well because I'm really at the end
9:40
I was left like nothing had happened for this. character. No growth had happened. And I find that unfortunate. I agree with that, like
9:52
the ending is, um, it's, it's climactic. You get to that point. And then it just kind of ends
9:58
And she has that same confused look on your face. And it's the whole closure mind. Or you're
10:05
trying to catch flies type of thing. But you're, it seemed like they, I mean, there's a lot that
10:11
it happened in the past, what, 12 months of her. There was a lot that it happened to her
10:16
And it seemed like they were trying to tell a story that, you know, this person is falling apart
10:20
but it never came across that. Well, even in the end, it seemed more that Olivia was having
10:27
issues than Charlotte. That was such a switch. That point of the movie, and it is right at the end
10:35
Yeah. It really took me off guard and kind of, maybe, I think it kind of lessened the value of what had happened to
10:45
or what Charlotte's supposed to be experiencing by the end of the film. Yeah, because what she's going through is supposed to be very
10:52
like the whole movie she's saying something horrible is happening. So there's something awful is going to happen
10:57
I feel it. And no one feels like that. It's supposed to be a big event. And then you have some other character who randomly starts to feel it in the last 10 minutes
11:05
And you're right, it totally lessens it. And it's also very confusing. Totally
11:10
Yeah. I was really lost at the end. And if you're watching a movie
11:15
you should never think to yourself like, oh, I better rewind it. I think I miss something
11:19
That should never happen. Especially in a movie with this kind of plotting course
11:25
It's a very patient, methodical thing. There's nothing that you should miss in this
11:30
So another part of this, along with the mental breakdown of someone
11:34
is there's an actual killing spree going. There is a murder running rapid. How well was that conveyed I was really excited for that in reading about this movie before we watched it I thought ooh kind of cool And then when it starts out I like ooh this is going to be like a true detective
11:50
You know, there's going to be some like true detective, maybe, you know, Twin Peaks kind of action
11:55
The murders are second fiddle to other stuff. To whatever. The murders, like, they're all
12:09
Yeah, you're right. Second fiddle is a great way to put it. They're always in the background. Like, Charlotte's father is a, I think he's the sheriff of the town. He doesn't seem like he really is, I mean, there's a curfew and there's kind of mention of, you know, let's be careful type of thing
12:26
But it's, I didn't even realize that that many people had died until they showed like a shrine or an in-memorium type of thing. And there was like 15 bodies or something or canvas
12:36
So I was confused. I was like, wait, I was like, are this that just a bunch of? of pictures of like two two girls or yeah the whole thing threw me off and also a totally wasted
12:45
performance by that guy who played to her father i thought he the brief moments he's in the movie he's
12:50
really good um and there could have been a whole lot more there that that just wasn't fleshed out
12:57
i mean it's a missed opportunity and i think based on the synops the tagline that the
13:04
um marketing is using that's what they felt should have been and was
13:09
the focus of the film but I don't know like I didn't I thought that would be the focus too and it
13:14
it does kind of build to it and then once they discover the first body they do talk about she's like
13:22
oh I saw that person last night and it seems like it's going to be the minute and then there is a
13:27
resemblance between her and that person but it never really goes anywhere it's ancillary
13:35
it's weird ancillary it's totally ancillary and you know we get these two
13:39
kind of mysterious guy figures that come in that are obviously connected to Charlotte's past
13:46
in the recent past. And you don't get, you get like, oh, they're going to be suspects in
13:53
these murders. They're going to be, this is going to be fleshed out. And again, those characters
13:58
almost didn't even need to be in this movie. It was, there was some real bizarre choices
14:04
I thought, made in who got the spotlight and when. Agreed. It was like someone obviously had influences, which we, I mean
14:15
obviously if you're going to make a movie, you have influenced from previous filmmakers, and it was just a melange that didn't quite come together. Well, so your final thoughts on
14:23
the giant, would you, say, rush out to see it, worth the watch, or just completely avoid
14:29
The giant is, like I said, a lot of style, a lot of style. And, you know, I think there's some
14:37
there is some good to be. enjoyed out of that, some of the creativity
14:43
It falls really, really flat as a storytelling device. And I think there are better things to spend your time on
14:53
I'd avoid it. Oh, this is a tough one. Really, really, really tough one
14:58
If you want to see something that's, you know, satisfying, cool story, then, yeah, this isn't the thing
15:04
It does have, it looks good at times when you can see what's going on
15:08
it does look good, cool atmosphere. I mean, I'd say it's worth having on in the background type of thing
15:16
But be very, that comes with a huge caveat. Do not expect to have a satisfying conclusion
15:23
So every week you can catch us here on YouTube. We have adventures and movies looks at dot, dot, dot
15:28
We also have the quick and dirty version of our podcast that you can find all the major podcast providers
15:35
But definitely check us out and we'll see you next week. Adios, everybody
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