“Colossal” comes loaded with the kind of premise you might be inclined to immediately write off: Anne Hathaway is a down-on-her-luck woman who discovers she can manifest a Godzilla type monster halfway around the world, and wreak all kinds of havoc. I know, I know, but having seen the movie at TIFF last fall, I can tell you that there’s a lot more going on than meets the eye.
Directed by Nacho Vigalondo (“Timecrimes,” “Open Windows“), and co-starring Jason Sudeikis, Tim Blake Nelson, and Dan Stevens, the movie starts off quirky but soon reveals a much darker core, with some rich themes really resonating. But it’s a movie that remains a tough sell, and upstart distributors Neon are leaning on the goofy nature of the movie in the first trailer. Here’s the official synopsis:
Gloria (Anne Hathaway) is a hard partying New York scene girl who is thrust into crisis when her boyfriend, Tim (Dan Stevens), grows sick of her antics and kicks her out of their apartment. With no other options, she moves back to her hometown and quickly regresses, drinking every night until last call and accepting a job at a bar owned by her childhood friend Oscar (Jason Sudeikis). One day she wakes up and blurrily finds out that Seoul was terrorized by a giant creature the night before. Eventually, Gloria begins to suspect her own drunken actions are bizarrely connected to the monster rampaging in South Korea.
“Colossal” screens at Sundance and will open on April 7th. [EW]