Monday, May 1, 2017

Colossal

By s. Monday, May 1, 2017 , , , , , , , ,

Gloria (Anne Hathaway) is an out-of-work blogger and an alcoholic mess, who, after getting kicked out of her apartment by her boyfriend Tim (Dan Stevens), is forced to leave her life in New York and move back to her hometown.When she arrives she reconnects with her childhood friend, Oscar (Jason Sudeikis) who is an owner of a bar. Oscar hires Gloria as  a waitress and helps her get back on her feet.

When news reports surface that a giant creature is destroying Seoul, South Korea, Gloria gradually comes to the realization that she is somehow connected to his far-off phenomenon. As events begin to spin out of control, Gloria must determine why her seemingly insignificant existence has such a colossal effect on the fate of the world.
Colossal is perhaps the most surprising movie you will see this year. When you know something is a comedy about a girl who is a mess coming back to her hometown because she lost everything else you assume you know where all of this is going. But whatever you think happens in Colossal, I assure you, you are wrong.

The idea that Gloria is connected to the gigantic monster is a very unique hook that got people talking about this movie. But that's not the most special thing about Colossal. The film constantly reinvents itself, twists the story, tells us more and more about the characters we are watching. While some of the events are pure fantasy the people at the core of the story feel real, flawed, complex. It's a fantastical tale so firmly rooted in reality because of the strongly written characters who never feel like caricatures.
Its outrageous and silly premise comes to life on the screen so well and in such a gripping way whatever shortcomings you may find in a movie where it comes to plausibility it more than enough repays with the narrative and how emotional all of this is. It's not hard to see that the gigantic monster Gloria is connected to is the manifestation of her drinking problem - the monster crashes everything on its path, much like Gloria who hurts herself when she drinks and - what is far worse - she keeps hurting others.

Gloria is not an easy character to like. She is clearly troubled and keeps messing up, time and the time again. But in the film's biggest twist someone else emerges who is far more unlikable than Gloria and it's at that point when you really start rooting for her. There is something that Gloria does, about halfway through the movie, that she has every right to do. However someone else in her life is deeply hurt by her action and what happens is that they start treating her completely differently from that point on. It's extreme and it's petty but because the film tells us enough about the characters initially you understand the other side's actions and hurt.
But that's when the film transforms again taking this reaction to even further extremes, In a way Colossal works as a superhero/supervillain story, perhaps the most original since Unbreakable, where an ordinary person has the power to save lives of others and needs to pay a price for that. That price takes Colossal to another territory - psychological thriller that is really quite brutal and relentless to watch. You desperately want Gloria to come up with an idea to get out of her terrible predicament.

I'm not a big fan of Anne Hathaway. While everyone else in the world were giving her awards for Les Miserables she was actually my choice for best supporting actress too, but for her fun, charming and lovely work as Selina Kyle. Hathaway has so much charm and really wonderful comedy skills which she showed off in many roles, unfortunately for every one of those there was also some desperate and transparent Oscar bait performance. I always liked her in low key roles, without big baity scenes and that is Colossal. Hathaway makes her character feel very human, with all of her flaws but ultimately very admirable too. And the script never takes an easy way out - yes, something incredible is happening but that doesn't magically repair flaws in Gloria's personality. They are still there.
Jason Sudeikis and  Dan Stevens provide strong support, but to say anything more about the characters and the events of the movie would be a crime. The less you know about the film, the more surprising you will find it and it's such an entertaining and imaginative ride from start to finish.

Colossal also has beautiful score by severely underrated composer Bear McCreary (The Walking Dead, Outlander) which makes the final moments of it feel even more epic and memorable.

Just watch this film - you won't regret it. Colossal (109 min, 2016)
Plot: Gloria is an out-of-work party girl forced to leave her life in NY and move back home. When reports surface that a giant creature is destroying Seoul, she gradually comes to the realization that she is somehow connected to this phenomenon.
Director: Nacho Vigalondo
Writer: Nacho Vigalondo
Stars: Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis, Austin Stowell

18 comments:

  1. Nice review...you've convinced me to see this. I thought the trailer looked a little strange at first, and I'm no fan of Hathaway, but I'll check this one out!

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    1. It is very strange but also very well done and fun! I think you'll like it!

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  2. I really want to see this as the premise of it is awesome and I just want to see Anne in non-glamorous role where she can just chill and have fun.

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    1. She does exactly that in this movie :)

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  3. My theater is getting this next week so I hope I can find some time to go see it. I've always liked Hathaway as an actress, even with the weird award show behavior.

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    1. Yeah, go see it! It's quite wonderfully shot so it's worth seeing on the big screen

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  4. I"m not really a fan of Anne Hathaway so I sent Sean to see this one at SXSW while I saw something else. He also thought it was pretty good so I sort of regretted it, and now you've convinced me I should make an effort to see it. I did, however, get a drink at the bar from Jason Sudeikis who was bartending, so maybe that was the best part.

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    1. It's definitely worth seeing, even if you won't end up liking it it's certainly unique enough to make it worth your while.

      Holy shit, that is so cool! He seems like a nice guy.

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  5. I skimmed near the end because I really want to see this, but now I'm going out of my mind in anticipation. Well done.

    And, uh, there are people who don't like Anne Hathaway? Are you people nuts? She's sooooo sexy (at times). Rowr.

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    1. You desperately need quality cinema in your life, dude :P

      "At times" :) I do love her in Devil Wears Prada but I love everyone there

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  6. See, I just need 'cinema' in my life. 'Quality'? That's just greedy.

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    1. Greedy would be asking for nudity in those movies.

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    2. Well then. Consider me Gordon f--king Gekko.

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  7. This movie looks fun. I haven't been seeing a lot of films lately, but i will try to see this one. What a unique concept.

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    1. It's really worth seeing, I think you'll like it!

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  8. Gotta admit, I saw this and I thought it looked like shit. Wonbder if its still playing here. If so I think you have just convinced me to go see it while I still can!

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    1. It's really good! Definitely worth seeing, it may turn out to be the most unique film this year

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  9. I just saw this movie and it was awesome! I never expected to enjoy this movie like I did! I might rewatch it again sometime!

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