Colossal

While primarily known as popcorn entertainment to modern audiences, the grand-daddy of all kaiju (giant monster) movies Godzilla was a metaphorical film about the dangers of destructive science with clear references to nuclear weapons. However, pretty much every incarnation since then has focused on escapism with a lead monster facing off against humans, robots, robots controlled by humans, and other monsters. Which is why Colossal, a movie that uses its leading monster as a metaphor caught my attention.

The film centers around Gloria, an unemployed writer and shameless alcoholic. After one drunken night too many and a fight with her boyfriend, Gloria returns to her childhood home and town to recover and avoid spending money she doesn't have. However, after reconnecting with a friend from her past, Gloria discovers a connection between her blackouts and the appearance of a giant monster in Seoul, South Korea.

First things first, yes this premise does require a bit of fantastical thinking for the audience to get on board. There's little to no explanation for why the giant monsters appeared in the first place, outside of a brief flashback or two that shows the first occurrence, so it's up to the audience to accept the premise going in. If you can't do that, then clearly the film isn't for you. If you can, this movie is a deeper than expected look at destructive behavior and relationships than you might think.

At first glance, Colossal's metaphorical connections between a drunken Gloria and giant Godzilla-styled monster destroying of a bunch of innocent lives in the process, feels as subtle as a slegdehammer to the face. Put another way, it's not a new perspective to say that one individual's addiction and substance dependence leaves a trail of destruction in its wake.

What's clever about Colossal is that Gloria's revelation doesn't signal the story's ending, because while seeing how her actions could affect hundreds of thousands of innocent people, it doesn't mean that she's free of the circumstances that create destruction around her. Saying much more will give up too many story details, but this goes into far deeper and darker territory than you might think and the movie is better for it.

As you'd expect, the movie is another home run for Anne Hathaway continuing to demonstrate her talent as an actress and willingness to play potentially unlikable characters. It's hard to pick apart a performance like this piece by piece but when your movie is about a single character's emotional journey from a parasitic drunk towards someone more benevolent, especially when they're connect to a giant monster, you need them to nail every step and turn, and Hathaway delivers.

The film's biggest surprise, however, has to be Jason Sedeukis who delivers a key central performance Gloria's old friend Oscar. While the movie is intentionally being coy about Oscar's intentions and using his extensive experience as a quip machine in comedies, what will really blow you away is how effective he is once things turn.

Plenty of credit should also be given to writer/director Nacho Vigalondo for a couple of excellent choices. My favorite is the inclusion of sound effects as Gloria stomps around the playground. Since the film is clearly operating with a lower budget than a typical Hollywood project, the scenes with the giant monster are somewhat limited and only show up during crucial points in the story. However, to ensure an audience connection to the carnage as Gloria prances around a park, an inherently funny image, the film filters in sounds of destruction including screams and explosions in time with her actions. It's a small element, but it makes simple things like a stumble towards the ground feel potentially world-shattering.

Most of the films faults are the result of some predictable plot turns and a noticeably slower third act. Unfortunately this does take some weight away from the finale, even if it is a natural resolution to the story.

Decidely unconventional and more thoughtful than you might think, Colossal is much more than a movie with a killer hook. Check this out.