Colossal

Year: 2017
Genre: Sci-Fi
Directed: Nacho Vigalondo
Stars: Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis, Austin Stowell, Dan Stevens, Tim Blake Nelson, Hannah Cheramy, Nathan Ellison, Sarah Surh, Christine Lee, Rukiya Bernard, Melissa Montgomery
Production: Brightlight Pictures

Watch it! You may love it, you may hate it, but I guarantee you will never forget it. To say more about Colossal; to go over the themes and characterizations in earnest - heck, even to give you a synopsis would give you too much info. Just stop what you're doing, prime yourself for the uniquely absurd and enjoy the show.

I mean, you'll probably be the only one in there...

Okay fine, for the sake of cogency (and to fill up the margins) I will give you a little more. Colossal, spiritually is Kaiju movie a la Godzilla (1954) and King Kong (1933). Which is to say through much of the movie, there is a gigantic monster destroying Seoul, South Korea. Yet instead of focusing on the destruction and mayhem, the film concerns itself with two lonely alcoholics halfway across the globe, who are more connected to monster's sudden appearance than they both realize.

Our primary protagonist is New York party girl and out-of-work writer Gloria (Hathaway), who's alcohol dependency has left her destitute and traveling back to her hometown to lick her wounds. While there, she reacquaints with Oscar (Sudeikis) an amiable towny who inherited his small town bar from his family way back when. Both feel stuck, both feel trapped and both see the monster in Seoul as an expression of their inner demons and maybe even a release.

Now will you watch it? Now will you see this awkward mix of fantastical lunacy and indie movie sensibilities? Now will you take a few hours out of your day to check out what might be the most unique movie of the year?

No? Would it help if I told you Anne Hathaway is pitch perfect as a multifaceted and deeply flawed heroine? I for one was never aboard the Hathaway Express. Don't get me wrong, she's a fine actress, but the movies and the characters she gravitated towards always felt more like a marketing decision than a genuine desire to spread her wings. Here however, Hathaway's rueful pity party is immediately beguiling. Not in a sad-funny, quirky, Lost in Translation (2003) kind of way. No this movie has a whole other kind of vibe. The kind of unique, wanton, weirdly satisfying vibe that can only be sustained by a dude named Nacho behind the camera.

Not this guy...though it makes you wonder...

The direction here can best be described as fierce and picturesque. Director Nacho Vigalondo clearly has an appreciation for a bright-light and boozy version of Midwest Americana. He has such a command of the look and feel in-fact, that when he knowingly breaks cinematic rules to further the story, every big reveal packs that much more of an emotional wallop. What we then end up with is a delicate balance of off-putting tones and surprising payoffs. Played by any other movie, one scene would be raucously funny instead of a cold snap of horror. One scene would be played off as romantic instead of goofy. The setup says "sad," but the payoff says we're in for big laughs...and on, and on.

Thus I leave you with that: a mind primed for something unique and interesting that jolts you with surprise after surreal surprise.

Final Grade: B+