Colossal is Quirky in all the Best Ways

I didn't have much context for Colossal when I went to see it. I had high hopes for Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis' chemistry and I was expecting the film to have a quirky and fun vibe to it, but it surprised me. And in this case, the surprise was good. 

It might be hard to piece together what the movie's premise actually is from the trailer alone. Is it a monster movie? Is it a drama? A comedy? Nacho Vigalondo is ambitious and tries to give us all of the above. But the question is: does he pull it off? I guess you could say that's up for interpretation, but I for one thoroughly enjoyed this fresh story during a bit of a feature film lull (which isn't out of the ordinary for this time of year).

The movie opens on a young Korean girl roaming a park in the dark at night, trying to find her lost doll with spooky music playing in the background and her mother not too far behind. Flash forward a couple of decades and the film shifts gears when sweet-looking Anne Hathaway returns home to her shared apartment with her boyfriend. She's nursing a hangover (or possibly still drunk from the night before) and is clearly a mess. Her posh Brittish boyfriend (played by Dan Stevens) has had enough and kicks her out of their New York apartment and she goes back to her hometown and her parents empty rental home. 

What you think might be a step towards recovery ends up being a situation that propels her even more into the spiral that is alcoholism. She gets a job at a bar after running into a grade school friend, Oscar, (Jason Sudeikis) who inherited his dad's bar and virtually runs it on his own. We learn over time that Oscar isn't who we think, but it's not exactly clear until the end if he's friend or foe.

Meanwhile, a monster appears in Seol, South Korea and terrorizes the city, causing panic world wide. Gloria comes to realize she is connected to what she initially believes is a random event and what follows is a process of her facing her demons and deepest struggles. 

This story reveals the destruction that alcoholism leaves in its wake. It makes us ponder, does abusing alcohol (or any substance really) make you into a monster, or only reveal the monster within? It seems like a film that can't decide what genre it is wouldn't be able to provide us with any answers, but as I mentioned before, this film is ambitious. If it accomplishes anything we can at least come to sympathize with Gloria's battle to defeat her addiction and the film does with this with a splash of feminism, making you pump your first at the end. 

This story is quirky with a touch of magic and an honest portrayal of life's struggles. If you can suspend reality a little bit, I think this film has a lot to offer. And for all of your movie theater options right now, Colossal is not a bad way to go.