Colossal is a 2016 science fiction black comedy film directed and written by Nacho Vigalondo. The film stars Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis, Dan Stevens, Austin Stowell, and Tim Blake Nelson. In the film, Gloria, an unemployed writer, unwittingly manifests a giant monster in Seoul, while struggling with alcoholism and an abusively controlling colleague.
The film is an international co-production between producers in Canada, Spain, the United States and South Korea. Anne Hathaway signed onto the project in May 2015, which was described as “Godzilla meets Lost in Translation”.[5] Prior to the start of filming, Toho brought a lawsuit against Voltage Pictures, the film’s producers, for unauthorized usage of Godzilla’s image. However, a settlement was reached in October. Principal photography began on October 18, 2015 and primarily took place in and around Vancouver, British Columbia, finishing on November 25, 2015.
Colossal held its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 9 September 2016 and was followed by several festival screenings. It was theatrically released in the United States on April 7, 2017 by Neon, in South Korea on April 20 by Dreamfact Entertainment, in Canada on April 21 by Mongrel Media, and in Spain on June 30 by Versus Entertainment; it aired a day earlier, on June 29, on Movistar Estrenos as an exclusive preview. The film received positive reviews, with praise for the acting, direction, screenplay, and themes. Hathaway was singled out by many critics for particular acclaim. The film grossed $4.5 million worldwide against a production budget of $15 million.
Plot
Gloria is an unemployed writer struggling with alcoholism. Her errant behavior prompts her frustrated boyfriend Tim to break up with her and evict her from their New York City apartment. Forced to move back to her hometown in Mainhead, New England, Gloria reunites with her childhood friend Oscar, who now runs his late father’s bar. Oscar is warm and welcoming to Gloria and offers her a job at the bar, which Gloria accepts.
Working at the bar aggravates Gloria’s alcohol problem. After each shift, she hangs out and drinks until morning with Oscar and his friends, Garth and Joel, while sleeping it off on a bench near a children’s playground. At the same time, a giant reptilian monster appears in Seoul, leaving death and destruction in its wake. Gradually, Gloria realizes that when she walks through the playground at exactly 8:05 am, she causes the monster to manifest and is able to remotely control it.
Gloria reveals her secret to Oscar and his friends by playfully dancing in the playground while they watch a news feed of the monster mimicking her movements. When a helicopter launches a missile at the monster, Gloria petulantly lashes out and destroys the helicopter, killing its pilot. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, she panics and collapses. When she awakens, she discovers that Oscar also manifests in Seoul, as a giant robot. Gloria ultimately tries to make amends by having the monster spell out an apology in Korean, to the delight of the South Koreans and the media, and begins to avoid both the playground and alcohol.
After spending the night with Joel, Gloria discovers that a drunken Oscar is using the robot to taunt South Korea. After a tense confrontation, Gloria manages to make him leave. Oscar is jealous, believing that something happened between Gloria and Joel. Later that night at the bar, he drunkenly insults his friends and demands Gloria have a beer, threatening to return to the playground if she refuses. The next morning, a sobered-up Oscar apologizes to Gloria, which she accepts.
Tim shows up in town on a pretense to see Gloria, but while he misses her, he can’t help but be irritated and dismissive to her life situation. Upon meeting Tim at the bar, Oscar provokes a confrontation by setting off a large firework inside the bar. He boasts that, no matter how he behaves, he knows that Gloria will never go with Tim. Oscar later shows up at Gloria’s house, telling her he is there to prevent her from going back with Tim.
This triggers a childhood flashback, revealing how Gloria and Oscar are able to manifest their avatars in South Korea: Gloria’s school project, a paper diorama of Seoul, is blown over a playground. Oscar retrieves it but, because of jealousy over it being better than his, stomps on it instead. Gloria’s anger triggers a lightning flash that strikes them both, as well as his toy robot and her toy reptilian monster. Back in the present, Gloria recognizes that his manipulative behavior, combined with the destroyed photos and other clues around Oscar’s house, is sourced from Oscar’s self-hatred, and resolves to leave town with Tim. Gloria and Oscar race for the playground but Gloria arrives first, and attempts to fight him again. Oscar incapacitates Gloria and destroys a large portion of Seoul, killing many people. He tells her that she’s free to leave if she wishes, but every morning she remains absent, he’ll take a walk through the playground.
Upon returning to her house, Gloria comes up with a plan to stop Oscar. She flies to South Korea, apologizing to Tim for not coming with him but insisting she owes him no explanations. At 8:05 am, U.S. time, Oscar causes the giant robot to manifest in Seoul. As she heads towards Oscar’s avatar, Gloria causes her monster to appear at the playground back home. Gloria’s monster flings Oscar into the distance, killing him and causing the giant robot to be launched into the horizon and disappearing. Gloria retreats to a bar and asks the bartender if she would like to hear an incredible story. After being offered a drink, Gloria lets out a long sigh.
Cast
Anne Hathaway as Gloria
Hannah Cheramy as young Gloria
Jason Sudeikis as Oscar, Gloria’s childhood friend
Nathan Ellison as young Oscar
Dan Stevens as Tim, Gloria’s ex-boyfriend
Austin Stowell as Joel
Tim Blake Nelson as Garth
Rukiya Bernard as Marie
Agam Darshi as Ash
Reviews
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