Review of Colossal (2017) by Cath O — 21 May 2017

One of the most original and unpredictable films I've seen in a long time. Gloria (Hathaway) is wastrel drunk who heads home broke and dumped. Meeting up school chum Oscar (Sudekis) she settles into an uneasy slovenly life. After a drunken night, Gloria wakes to find Seoul has been terrorised by a Godzilla like giant creature. However it soon becomes clear Gloria and the monster are linked. The story takes a dark turn when Oscar, is revealed not just be the nice guy next door type, but an altogether more menacing type of toxic entitled male who can't take rejection. In fact the film's sexual politics are very intriguing. Gloria is surrounded by men of varying flaws - shallow judgemental boyfriend, vain and self centred bitter guy, young impressionable but ultimately weak toy boy and the unpleasant angry dude who resents and blames others. That Gloria herself is pretty flawed, although she is shown to have a moral strength no one else does, is notable. Just a shame there are no other female characters AT ALL, just Gloria and 4 men!

Great performances all round, but special praise to the writer and director for creating a striking, if deeply weird film. It is one that I enjoyed a lot although I imagine Hathaway romcom fans will be put off by the monsters, Godzilla fans will be put off by the mumblecore bunch of 20somethings and the domestic drama.