COLOSSAL (2016)

Studio:       Neon
Director:    Nacho Vigalondo
Writer:       Nacho Vigalondo
Producer:  Nacho Vigalondo, Russell Levine, Nahikari Ipina, Zev Foreman, Dominic Rustam
Stars:     Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis, Dan Stevens, Austin Stowell, Tim Blake Nelson

Review Score:

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Summary:

A young woman struggling to straighten her life discovers she can control a giant monster on the other side of the world.

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Synopsis:     Show/Hide Spoilers

A mother and daughter in Seoul, South Korea suddenly see a giant monster materialize from nowhere and walk through the city.

25 years later, unemployed socialite Gloria is told to leave the New York apartment she shares with her boyfriend Tim, who can no longer tolerate her flighty lifestyle. Gloria is shocked.

Gloria returns to her small hometown of Mainhead, New Hampshire and takes up a makeshift residence in an empty, unrented family house. Gloria later runs into her old acquaintance Oscar, whom she hasn’t seen since high school, and goes with him to the family bar he now runs in town.

Gloria meets Oscar’s friends Garth and Joel and spends the night drinking and talking with all three of them. Gloria takes an interest in Joel. On her way home after dawn, Gloria trudges across a nearby playground while lugging an air mattress.

Gloria wakes to news that a giant monster suddenly materialized in Seoul. She calls Tim, though their conversation does not move toward reconciliation.

Back at the bar, Gloria watches news reports and discusses the monster attack with Oscar, Joel, and Garth. Gloria again stumbles home in the morning and follows the same pathway through the park’s playground. Gloria pauses to call Tim once more and their conversation ends coldly again. Gloria tosses her phone in frustration.

Oscar visits Gloria the following day to deliver a TV. Gloria learns that the Seoul monster appeared and then disappeared at the exact same time of day as its previous materialization. Oscar shows Gloria footage of the monster’s first appearance from 25 years earlier. Gloria then reviews video of the most recent attack and notices the monster making the exact same motions she made while on the phone in the park. Gloria eventually concludes that at 8:05, the monster in Seoul will appear and perform the actions she does in Mainhead’s park.

Gloria begins working at Oscar’s bar. Oscar takes an interest in Gloria as their group continues spending time together.

Gloria takes Oscar, Garth, and Joel to the park at 8:05. While the men watch a live feed of Seoul on a cellphone, Gloria begins dancing in the playground. The men see the monster copying Gloria’s moves and realize she controls the creature. A helicopter attacks the monster and Gloria feels a sharp pain. Gloria loses her balance and falls, as does the Seoul creature.

Gloria wakes to news the next day that a giant robot appeared across from the monster at the same time. Oscar and Gloria realize that Oscar controls the robot. The two of them trace the connection to childhood when they walked to school near a construction site where the playground is now, though they don’t deduce how or why they control the creature and robot.

Oscar has a Korean grocer translate a message for Gloria. The next time the monster appears, Gloria has it write an apology on the beach with a promise that it will not attack again.

Gloria spends the night at Joel’s place. The next morning, she wakes to news that the giant robot returned to Seoul. Gloria and Joel race to the park where Garth watches Oscar laughingly threaten to topple buildings while drunk. Gloria angrily confronts Oscar and slaps him. Crowds all over the world are heard cheering as the monster fights the robot. Humiliated, Oscar finally backs down.

Oscar’s rude behavior continues as his animosity toward Gloria grows. Drunk, Oscar returns to the park. Gloria furiously follows and the two of them fight as the monster and robot do the same in Seoul. When the fight is over, Gloria throws her key to the bar and vows she is finished with Oscar. Oscar threatens to destroy an entire Seoul neighborhood if Gloria quits. Gloria realizes she has to do what Oscar demands to protect Seoul. She then flashes back to a childhood memory when her science fair project of a Korean diorama blew into a tree where the park stands now.

Joel visits Gloria and tries apologizing for Oscar. Gloria goes to see Oscar and he personally apologizes for his behavior. However, Oscar repeats his blackmail threat that forces Gloria to continue working at his bar.

Tim comes to town. He and Gloria have an awkward interaction over possibly reconnecting before Gloria takes Tim to meet Oscar. Tim and Oscar engage in a contentious conversation that culminates in Oscar intentionally setting part of his bar on fire with a Mexican firecracker to make a point to Gloria. Tim tries leaving with Gloria, but Oscar’s insinuation about what he will do forces Gloria to stay.

Gloria comes home to find Oscar waiting for her. Oscar continues to subtly threaten Gloria about returning to New York with Tim.

Gloria flashes back to childhood again and remembers Oscar helping to retrieve the Seoul diorama that blew away. However, Gloria follows after him and secretly spies Oscar stomping her model as his toy robot falls to the ground. Oscar leaves the scene. A wind blows and blood trickles down Gloria’s forehead. A plastic monster from her backpack also falls on the ground.

Gloria tells Oscar that he hates himself and that he has also hated her since they were young. Gloria calls Tim and indicates that she is going to the airport to leave with him.

Oscar moves to go to the park. Gloria fights him, but Oscar breaks away. The two of them race to the playground and resume fighting. Oscar beats Gloria as her monster falls to the ground in Seoul. Oscar threatens to rampage through Seoul every morning that Gloria is not in Mainhead with him.

Tim returns to New York. Gloria secretly flies to Seoul.

When Oscar discovers Gloria is gone, he returns to the playground as promised. As Oscar makes the robot appear on the other side of the world at 8:05, Gloria stands in Seoul, making her monster appear in Mainhead. Before Oscar can run away in shock, Gloria’s monster grabs Oscar and throws him into the distance. The robot does the same as Oscar in Seoul.

Joel watches the events on TV and smiles, realizing what Gloria did. Meanwhile, Gloria enters a Seoul bar and asks the waitress if she would like to hear an amazing story.

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Review:

Gloria’s life is in a downward spiral.  She has been out of work for a year.  Her flighty friends enable her heavy-drinking socialite style.  And her boyfriend Tim has had it up to here with Gloria’s passive irresponsibility, taking the liberty of packing her things and kicking the girl to the curb of their New York apartment.

There is one thing Gloria has control over however, and that’s a giant monster across the world in Seoul, South Korea.  More on that in a moment.

Low on options for next moves, Gloria retreats to her tiny hometown and turns a vacant family rental into a makeshift residence furnished like a poor freshman’s dorm.  In town, Gloria bumps into old acquaintance Oscar and learns her childhood classmate now owns the local bar.  Bad habits die hard, so Gloria picks up where she left off, unambitiously occupying her days as Oscar’s waitress while spending nights in drunken conversation with her new boss and his two average pals.

Things become less ordinary when Gloria wakes from a hangover haze to learn that a Godzilla-like creature inexplicably appeared overseas, toppled a few buildings, and dematerialized as suddenly as it arrived.  It gets weirder.  Following clues after additional appearances, Gloria realizes that if she sets foot in a local playground at exactly 8:05, that monster appears on the other side of Earth, mimicking every move she makes.

This magical monster is enough to take the lives of everyone on the planet in an unexpected direction.  For Gloria specifically, it’s a revelation poised to put her on a path toward reclaiming her identity and sense of self-worth.  And while Gloria fights her personal foes, her alter ego has a pound-for-pound enemy of its own to conquer in building-sized beast form.

From “Timecrimes” (review here) to “Open Windows” (review here), writer/director Nacho Vigalondo routinely proves to be one of the most unconventionally creative filmmakers in contemporary genre cinema.  When it comes to executing his imaginative ideas, “Colossal” proves nothing is off limits, even if tackling a potentially touchy topic through entertaining storytelling.

Consistently fearless in nearly everything he dares to do cinematically, Vigalondo follows Brian De Palma’s line of thought that unrealistic concepts can and will work when they are grounded by actors embodying relatable, human people.  This is achieved through perfectly-cast performances from Anne Hathaway as Gloria and Jason Sudeikis as Oscar.

Anne Hathaway has, bizarrely, earned ire from some who see her unflatteringly for reasons they can’t necessarily explain.  Should that be the case, her character in “Colossal” could be the cure to swinging back toward Hathaway’s side.

Gloria’s wrong foot introduction draws some head-shaking sighs for being an often distracted ditz complicit in the inability to get her act together.  As she gradually evolves out of her depressive cycle, Gloria emerges as a strong survivor worthy not of sympathy, but of admiration.  Strangely, Hathaway’s offscreen baggage works in her favor to fuel a perception of personality that propels Gloria’s transformative arc.

The same is true of Jason Sudeikis.  Normally known for playing comedic characters or romantic interests, preconceptions of Sudeikis’ usual roles make him ideal for catching audiences off guard with a sudden switch from affable to assh*le that others in his category could never pull off convincingly.  You almost can’t believe what you’re seeing from Sudeikis initially.  Then he is so good at juggling both sides, you can’t believe you never saw it coming in the first place.

What’s wonderful about the world where “Colossal” takes place is it mirrors everyday reality, yet a giant monster attack is as commonplace of a newsworthy disaster as a devastating typhoon.  Superficially, paralleling plotlines by making one a faceoff between a beastly behemoth and a gargantuan robot should be an absurd frame for serious subtext about toxic masculinity in an age of woke millennialism.  But that absurdity underscores an idea that outdated notions of subservient gender roles should also be considered as equally impossible, even when they most regrettably are not.

If all of this commentary sounds like a turnoff, don’t fear.  “Colossal” is a crowd-pleaser on more levels than that, and one of them is as a slam-bang colossal creature slugfest capable of making Toho smile.

It’s a cliché to say it, but it bears stating nonetheless.  “Colossal” is unlike any movie you’ve ever seen.  It’s a comedic empowerment drama about escaping abuse dressed up in kaiju film form.  Against improbable odds, these unlikely potpourri pieces work in concert to create a unique motion picture that is funny, sweet, smart, sly, and sometimes even savage.

Review Score:  85

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