This ain’t an Ann Hathaway romantic comedy.

This ain’t a Jason Sudeikis wacky comedy.

This ain’t a Kaiju monster film.

Therein lies the rub with Colossal. Surely half of the audience who watched this film was expecting one of those types of films?

Truth be told it all depends on one what you like from your film-viewing. There’s a chance you might love this but also equally you could hate it, really it is that polarising.

There is no doubt the film is absurd and downright strange but along with Ann Hathaway, this is the strong points. You probably have not seen a film like this.

Both Hathaway and Sudeikis are primarily playing against type although perhaps at the beginning you would be forgiven for not thinking so.

Their characters are trapped by drink, lack of ambition and their overall poor character. Hathaway’s Gloria is gloriously useless and full of self-pity as she seems to gravitate to late night’s and drink at the drop of a hat. Sudeikis’ Oscar is a different barrel of fish, seemingly wholesome and friendly the longer things don’t pan out the way he thinks they should the darker more mean side of his nature, that has always been there, takes over. It’s an interesting study in the margins of society and how minor personality flaws can turn into major monsters that stomp their way through your life – oh see what happened there? That’s what this film is about with the metaphor made real – not particularly subtle but fun without any doubt.

Nacho Vigalondo shows in this film how he has a handle of the banality of being a shoddy average person in the modern world and how the slightest tipping of the balance can destroy anyone’s world. In a small way it reminded me of David Lynch in its outlook, with average, normal, Americana stripped back showing itself as ugly and mean and it is always only a layer away from being exposed.

Certainly there are laughs throughout the film, genuine laughs at funny moments, laughs at the stupidity of what you see and laughs at the absurdity in front of you – but it can not really be described as a comedy.

Colossal is interesting, fun and different. It is well acted, well directed and is trying to say something interesting in a way that you possibly have not seen before.

Finally, it has a great ending, not quite up there with Alan Parker’s Birdy but close. For the record, I’m on the ‘really liked it’ side of the equation.

[7.9/10] *Colossal* swerved me. Half an hour into the movie, I was still comfortably expecting it to be some combination of *Young Adult* and *Buffy the Vampire Slayer*. I figured that the protagonist, Gloria, would return home from the big city, relive a bit of her youth as the last time she felt good about herself and confront her alcoholism and the effect it has on the people around her. And I figured that the kaiju movie elements would work as a big colorful metaphor for that, the monstrousness of addiction and people losing control under the influence represented as a literal monster terrifying a city and causing death and destruction.

That’s a sound setup, one the film lets its audience settle into. The quiet, interpersonal drama of Gloria’s return to her hometown mixed with the high-magnitude danger of a fifty-foot tall creature attack Seoul makes for a winning, high concept film. The film’s cinematography is crisp and awash in fall colors, the performances and relationships feel lived in and real, and the movie mines its monster mash-up premise for real personal consequences. It all left me happily if warily waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Gloria’s alcohol addiction to tear something down in New England at the same time her towering equivalent was tearing things down in South Korea.

Instead, at around the halfway mark, *Colossal* reveals itself to be an examination of nice guy-ism, of the friendly, unsuspecting way an abuser can worm his way into your life and then try to exert control over it. The film introduces Oscar as Gloria’s childhood friend, and initially frames him as the kind, helpful counterpart to her meddlesome ex, Tim, who effectively booted her out of New York City. Tim is constantly shaming Gloria, giving her snootfuls of tough love, whereas Oscar gives her a job, seems to be understanding and forgiving and inclined to help her get back on her feet.

It turns out that Oscar is the villain of the piece. The film recontextualizes his previous offers of help as ways to foster Gloria’s dependence on him. Conversations that allegedly took place between them when she was near-blackout drunk may have been entirely and maliciously made up. And once Oscar realizes that Gloria slept with his friend Joel -- the prospect of which was enough to make the otherwise genial barkeep briefly snap earlier in the film -- the scales fall. Oscar becomes flatly abusive, emotionally blackmailing Gloria into staying near him, working with him, doing what he says, lest he use their magic connection to Seoul to take innocent lives.

I’ll admit, I found that jarring. But maybe it should be. Oscar fooled me in the same way that he fooled Gloria. While I assumed he was nursing a crush, and wouldn’t say no to Gloria being endeared to him, I thought he genuinely wanted to help her. His behavior escalates quickly after the midpoint of the movie, and that lends itself to some whiplash, but maybe that whiplash is true to life, the way nominally amiable people like Oscar who seem decent on the surface, can turn on a dime and become abusive when they’re not getting what they want.

It happens very suddenly in the film, which threw me off and is a little convenient for the film’s purposes and pacing, but the warning signs are subtle but firmly present, and it can happen suddenly in real life. And that initial disbelief I harbored, that gentle Oscar could suddenly turn into the real monster of the film, plays right into *Colossal*’s thematic purposes, of how slow we are to react or respond or believe it when we see or hear someone overstepping their bounds in dangerous, abusive ways.

That both halves of the movie is a tribute to Anne Hathaway, who manages to play Gloria as believably problem-ridden but also sympathetic. But it’s even more of a coming out party for Jason Sudeikis as Oscar. I’ve almost exclusively seen Sudeikis in comedic roles, and the way he manages to channel his affable everyman vibe into a character who is alternately cruel and kind, in the way that abusers are, is downright masterful. There’s so many levels of Oscar’s hidden pathology, and each event in the film peels another layer back to reveal something more ever more unassumingly disquieting beneath it. The epitomizes the toxic hand in the velvet glove the movie wants to craft, and manages to fill both the nice guy and Nice Guy™ sides of the role perfectly.

The film has its problems though. For one, it takes pains to explain both how this monster mash came to be, and how the dynamic between Gloria and Oscar started, in a childhood flashback that comes off as too neat and unnecessary. While the reveal that the mystical lightning strike on the top of her head gave Gloria her trademark head-scratch tic has some charm, it weakens the cool and mysterious qualities that the proxy monster routine possesses. And at the same time, the film drops plenty of noteworthy hints about how long Oscar has been this way in the present, without the bluntness of needing to show him stomping on her diorama as a kid.

For another, as much as the swerve with Oscar serves the film’s purposes, the film effectively lets Gloria off the hook for her alcoholism and bad behavior once it unveils him as the antagonist. While the movie flips Oscar’s role, it leaves Gloria’s ex-boyfriend Tim as a perhaps well-meaning but nonetheless lamentably controlling individual for pushing her to address her addiction. That’s not an issue in a vacuum, but the film suggests that Gloria genuinely has problems that require professional help (or at least acceptance), that she’s legitimately hurt people due to her drinking, and it never really resolves that. If anything, it suggests that she drinks because of these sorts of people in her life. I may unfairly applying expectations from *Young Adult* here, a film more firmly committed to exploring the ills of its protagonist, but it was disappointing to see *Colossal* scuttle those concerns to the side once the movie’s villain was revealed.

And the film’s ending is a little too quick and easy. There’s something neat about flipping the dynamic of which city playgrounds result in where these creatures appear. But it’s an ending that works better metaphorically than it does in-universe, given the complexities of flying to Seoul, getting the timing right, and figuring out the mechanics of grabbing Oscar.

Still, the metaphor works. *Colossal* frames Oscar not simply as wanting to possess Gloria, not simply lashing out after childhood slights, but as someone who resents and envies her for succeeding beyond his mark, who revels in her stumbles and failings, and uses them to control and abuse her. It’s crafts a monster far more frightening than anything that could crush buildings and smash helicopters. There are flaws in its execution, missed opportunities here and there, but the longer I sit with the movie’s swerve, with Oscar’s rapid transformation from friendly face to manipulative bastard, the more right and scary it feels.

Makes enough pseudo-sense that those who are turned off by absurdism will be able to handle it, but still bizarre enough to get those who are fans of it on board. There might be some odd choices made in characterisation, and it's a far from perfect film, but _Colossal_ works for me in a big way, and I want to see more original material make it like _Colossal_ did.

_Final rating:★★★½ - I really liked it. Would strongly recommend you give it your time._

**A tale of two cities!**

Did not expect it. It was a unique film. I love such films, because I'm bored of the same old action, romance, horror, thrillers. But it had loads of flaws. It was hard to get rid of them. Even I thought without those flaws, there's no tale to tell. In the end, entertainment matter and this film provided that without logics. So put aside your adult brain and enjoy it like a kid.

I had not seen the teaser, trailer and never heard the storyline before trying it. I just went and sat, the initial parts were not that impressive. Because returning the hometown is a common cliché. Though once the story had taken a twist, the rest of the narration changed completely. Well, the story is about the two cities and each city split into a black comedy and a disastrous theme.

An unemployed and alcoholic young woman returns hometown after break up with her boyfriend. Befriends an old friend, and starts anew life. Until she discovers that on the other side of the world, a giant monster wrecking up a city. Once again, she discovers that she had something to do with that. Following it, how her response reshapes the entire episode was told with a twist at the end.

Anne Hathaway was simply good. But not to forget Jason Sudeikis' part too. Both of them controlled the narration. This is a film to have fun. Not to go after errs. A film with the giant monsters, but less graphics used. Very clever writing by the Spanish filmmaker known for some good titles. I think the film is a little underrated. Recommended for those who seek nothing but an entertainment.

**8/10**