Colossal

Jason Sudeikis and Anne Hathaway in Colossal

Nacho Vigalondo's Colossal  was a box office bomb that deserved better. Anne Hathaway plays Gloria who must return to her hometown after her boyfriend (the omnipresent and talented Dan Stevens) kicks her out of his New York apartment. Gloria is an out of work alcoholic who does little but party away to the wee hours. Oscar, a bar owner in her hometown with whom Gloria shares a past, hires her as a waitress. This is a mixed blessing for Gloria as she stays up till dawn after work drinking with Oscar's cronies.

The film lurches into Sci-Fi territory when a Godzilla like monster starts rampaging through Seoul and Gloria comes to realize that she shares a psychic connection with the creature. In many ways, this is the weakest aspect of the film. Vigalondo lacks the feel for spectacle of a del Toro and the carnage is typical Godzilla fu. However, Vigalondo's script is good at etching the arrested development and relationship struggles of thirty somethings. The characters are quirky without being twee, all ambivalent mixes of good and bad.

Vigalondo coaxes good performances out of his cast. Hathaway is too damned healthy looking to play a party girl, but her character's smart mouth is a good match for her verbal dexterity. The role is a stretch after a career playing awkward princesses and put upon waifs and Hathaway is up to the challenge. Similarly, Jason Sudeikis has heretofore mostly played nice guys in comedies, but is able to conjure darker hues as Oscar. Tim Blake Nelson and Austin Stowell are both effective as Oscar's drinking buddies, though I wonder if Stowell can do more than be stupid and beautiful. Vigalondo has an impressive number of credits as a writer, actor and director, mostly in Spain, and I hopes he gets to helm another Hollywood effort.