Gloria (Ann Hathaway) is a mess. She’s a jobless, lying, alcoholic. She tries to be good, but she doesn’t try very hard and is weak. She’d be self-centered if she put in the effort. Yet she’s likable, as long as you don’t have to rely on her or trust her. Her longterm boyfriend does need to do those things, so has had enough, and kicks her out. With nowhere else to go, she returns to her hometown. There she runs into her childhood friend Oscar (Jason Sudeikis) and several others who appear to have their acts together, but are really as messed up as she is. Around the same time, a giant monster appears in Korea, destroying buildings and killing hundreds. Gloria soon figures out that the monster is somehow connected to her.
This was unexpected. Sure, the setup is pretty good but I’d figured they’d just roll with that, sliding into a typical indie drama and be done with it: You know, Gloria has to struggle to get her life on track, stumbling a few times along the way until she works it out and the monster fades away. Nah. Colossal has no interest in being what anyone expected. Yes, this is indie art house meets geek, but if that sounds like something dull, think again. I can’t help comparing it to this year’s other mashup of indie drama and geedom: Logan. But Logan had no surprises, giving me what I knew such a mashup would in plot, character, and theme. Colossal breaks the rules and I couldn’t be happier.
The dialog is sharp, the plot is smart, and it is shot beautifully. The only problem is if you go in with the wrong expectations. If you are expecting Godzilla or Pacific Rim or any big daikaiju action film, you are in the wrong mindset. Likewise if you are set for a very serious indie character piece, you are in for a rough time. Colossal is its own thing. It has a giant monster and there is city smashing, but that’s not the focus. It has discussions of alcoholism, but it isn’t a somber examination of a social issue. It is closest to being a quirky comedy, but with a dark thriller layered on top… Plus a giant monster. There is symbolism galore. Everything represents something else, yet none of it is too heavy-handed, nor too obscure. I saw the metaphors easily, but one viewing isn’t enough because there are so many. Don’t want to dwell on the metaphors? Well, that’s foolish, but hey, there’s a giant monster!
Anne Hathaway is perfect as Gloria, keeping her from falling into drab melodrama tropes but also never cleaning her up. Yes, Gloria goes through serious changes in the film, but no unbelievable character shifts. She was a mess when it starts and she’s a mess when it ends, and still managed to keep me with her. I cared about Gloria. Jason Sudeikis is as good. It was a clever bit of casting as he appears to be exactly what a Jason Sudeikis character always is, until we find out he isn’t that at all.
Colossal is one of the best films of the year and by far the most original of my top ten. Daikaiju films often attempt to be about big themes, but few succeed. This is how it is done.