Colossal

Starring: Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeiki, Austin Stowell, Tim Blake Nelson, Dan Stevens
Directed by: Nacho Vigalondo
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama
2017

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A down-on-her-luck woman (Anne Hathaway) learns that she is somehow connected to a giant monster terrorizing South Korea.

Review:

Tim: Part of the reason I liked Nacho Vigalondo's Colossal is because the movie seems to work so hard to be unlikable. You have almost all unlikable characters. The movie is a bit of a slow burn. Even the good parts are always tinted with something that doesn't quite sit right. This is a weird, bizarre, totally unexpected movie. It's charm comes from the fact that there really isn't anything else like this.

The story is basically that a woman learns she is inadvertently controlling a giant monster in South Korea, but only when she enters a specific playground at a specific time of day. Weird, right? This is kind of a cool concept, but also supremely unsatisfying because we don't really know why, and the severe limitations of the whole thing makes it feel more boring than it should. It kind of forces our characters to act in nonsensical ways. This is an odd example of how the "rules" in the story limit the potential of the story. While I enjoyed the idea behind the story, the execution is odd. Vigalondo made so many strange choices with the script and his direction. It's refreshing, even as it baffles you.

I found it interesting that I pretty much hated all the characters in this film. Anne Hathaway is pretty good in the lead role, but man, her character is a mess. She's not very bright and continually works against herself. She's the classic "her own worst enemy" kind of character. It's hard for me to feel sympathetic for unlikable characters, but this one's penchant for self-sabotage did elicit some empathy. Hathaway is good in the role, even though she was saddled with a problematic character. There were so many moments when I just really, really did not like her character. It was maddening. Jason Sudeikis is similar- his performance is really good, but his character is bizarre. He undergoes this crazy transition as the film progresses. It wasn't especially believable, especially the extremes to which it was taken. It's kind of mesmerizing to watch his character change, especially because it doesn't make much logical sense. These are the two main characters, and man, they are hard to like. Dan Stevens is an actor I really like, but again, his character is just so bad. He's not sympathetic at all. Tim Blake Nelson and Austin Stowell were solid, but their characters were too weak and stupid for you to care about them. It's honestly impressive how Vigalondo wrote this collection of flawed, difficult characters.

The scenes with the giant monster (and eventually, the giant robot) are pretty fascinating. To watch as the characters slowly uncover what's happening, how to control, what does that power mean, etc.- is all quite entertaining. That's the best part of the film, the most interesting one. There's a parallel with how that storyline connects with what's happening in their lives, but it's not clear enough or powerful enough to spend a whole lot of time on. It's there, though. I did enjoy the ending of the film. It wasn't something I expected, It's somewhat satisfying, I suppose.

Colossal is certainly a polarizing movie. It would be so easy to hate this film and you'd have so many arguments to back up your case. I absolutely get it. I took a different perspective, though. While I certainly didn't love it (it was far too frustrating for that), I did marvel at the sheer craziness of this story. Vigalondo made so many bonkers choices throughout this film. It would have been so easy to make this more mainstream, more easily digestible. I appreciate his reluctance to do any of those things, which may have opened this film up to a wider audience. It's not surprising that this movie made just over $3 million at the box office. It's a strange film, but at least it's unique.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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