Sleeper Awakened

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COLOSSAL (2016)

COLOSSAL (2016) - 5-/10

A film driven by a fun premise that can't sustain its own wait with baffling plot machinations and truly unlikabke cast of characters. Like a Young Adult in Kaijuland. There is a turn about halfway that veers from the humor of rampant alcoholism and city destruction to something darker and far less enjoyable. That is not to say that its path was not purposeful and important, it simply felt detached from the films surroundings and was certainly not “fun”.

 

At first I though the kaiju connection was a metaphor for alcoholism and becoming a destructive monster. Cliché, but justified and sensible. Then it veered from that to something much less comprehensible and relatable. I appreciate it keeping me guessing and doing its own thing with a streak of depressing harshness, but despite its uniqueness, I didn't understand the purpose of many actions/elements or the driven purpose of the 2 main characters' journey-tale. The characters, their motivations, and wonder of the film were jumpy and left me questioning. I understand what Vigalando was meaning to delve into (mostly), but the connective material was insufficient and the hollowness of any elucidation left things dangling, unanswered and somewhat unearned.

 

Hathaway is solid, excelling in the “average woman with issues, but trying”. I wouldn’t attribute any award consideration to the performance, for me. Vigalando shone in his tone and inventiveness, but less with the visuals or tight & materialized script. It does do some interesting things and may be worth your viewing, but I felt there were too many oddities for me to completely back this film. I would suggest Timecrimes as a better film from Vigalando.