Fresh and foolish fun
where a kindly school friend gives her a job in his bar and helps her to set up house.
Struggling to settle, Gloria spends her days worrying about a mysterious monster attack in South Korea and her nights blacking out after a night on the turps.
The less said about this seemingly random narrative, the better, as Colossal‘s pleasures lie largely in watching something utterly absurd being treated with absolute acceptance by the film’s characters.
Hathaway, despite her reputation as a simpering Oscar winner and muchderided singing actress in Les Miserables, has an admirable career in indie flicks (notably the selfdestructive sister in Rachel Getting Married), and here marries her natural doe-eyed charm with a straight-faced credence as ridiculous, and hilarious, events unfold.
She plays against Jason Sudeikis, a comedic actor who does good deadpan, and Tim Blake Nelson (probably still best known for O Brother, Where Art Thou?) whose tortured visage performs most of the role for him.
Together, these societal misfits encounter a situation so silly but so charmingly cute we completely buy into it.
And with a premise this preposterous, that’s no mean feat.
At times some of the script doesn’t work, with scenes played too long or lines over-delivered (a disappointing accusation to level at Mr Stevens) and with a story this left-field, perhaps it’s inevitable the tonal shifts meander unconvincingly.
But the characters are so committed to the truth of the tale, it’s easy to lose yourself in the pleasure of simply watching something fresh, fun and eminently foolish. And you don’t get to do that often enough. – Sarah Watt