Colossal Movie Story
Colossal begins with Gloria, where we get to meet a woman who is out of job and is irresponsible with a drinking problem. Gloria is asked by her boyfriend, Tim, to move out of the apartment, until she gets herself together. Gloria used to be an article writer and without a job, she moves to her hometown in her parent’s house. She meets her school friend Oscar there who offers her a job at the bar. She eventually finds out that a giant monster that has been destroying Seoul mimics her moves. A few days later, a giant green robot also appears in the city. Watch the story unravel around Gloria and these two monsters.
Buzz:
A lawsuit against Colossal was filed in 2015, claiming too many similarities to Godzilla. Anne Hathaway was in the second trimester of her pregnancy while shooting for the movie. The director of the movie, Nacho Vigalondo, is known for movies like Timecrimes (2004) and Extraterrestrial (2017). He said, “This is the kind of movie that’s trying to punch [romantic comedies] in the face.”
Colossal Movie Review
Colossal is not one of the average romantic-comedies, though it does take the frame and mixes it with some monster-drama, enough to turn it into a unique new genre that is psychologically and emotionally strained. Using absurdity as the pivotal theme in the story, the director very well establishes the relation between Gloria and her monster.
The movie takes a painful lot of time to build the characters, especially of Gloria, and unravel the story, but it surprises every time you think you have it all figured out. The director is successful at breaking the set of stereotypical ideas revolving around a romantic-comedy and a kaiju-style monster-mayhem story. It seems like the director tried to bring his own existential angle to the whole Pacific Rim and Godzilla story.
Breaking their barriers with a very different style of acting are Anne Hathaway (Gloria) and Jason Sudeikis (Oscar). It’s refreshing to see Hathway play the role of an unapologetic character with an emotional instability, who still cares for the lives of people. At the same time, Sudeikis’ constant transitions between an apologetic and caring friend to a total control-freak with serious issues makes you marvel at his acting skills. Dan Stevens plays the role of the elite, smug boyfriend which somewhat seems stereotypical. Other supporting actors like Austin Stowell and Tim Blake Nelson, have small yet a rememberable presence in the movie.
The comedy in the movie aptly stands in stark to the grey areas that the movie tackles in the movie. Colossal engages the audience with its sound technical and visual effects. Be it the monster-fights running parallel to the fistfight in the dirt or the shaking of Earth perfectly timed with every step in the playground. Both the monsters portray a larger-than-life depiction of their counterpart actors. Gloria’s monster is a reflection of her personality – the anxiety, remorse, depression and the failure to get away from a bad relationship. Though, the pretty charged up unexpected end gives her the control.
Colossal masks several issues through its monsters. But, even though the message remains pretty strong, the path taken seems to have toned down its effects. It’s a movie, where you see the monster-action and comedy with some unusual drama on the screen, while at the same time, you slowly peel the layers on your way back home. The director has played a big gamble with introducing something to the audience that is new and raw and unusual. Not everyone will be able to connect with the movie, but keeping aside the slow process of events and character-building, the movie has a lot to convey.
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