Get Out, 2017’s first runaway hit, was a genre film serving as metaphors for larger social issues and with the release of Colossal, this trend has continued into the first 3rd of the year. Colossal uses a monster to examine the millennial generation, their transition to adult life, the resulting feelings of inadequacy, and how they choose to cope with these struggles.
Colossal introduces us to Gloria (Anne Hathaway), a young woman living in New York City and indulging in the city’s party scene while hopping from job to job and living with her more responsible boyfriend Tim (Dan Stevens). After one late night too many, Tim kicks Gloria out of the house and she moves back to her small hometown. She rekindles her childhood friendship with ex-schoolmate Oscar (Jason Sudeikis), who now owns his dad’s a bar. After a monster appears in Seoul, Gloria slowly realizes the monster is connected to her and that Oscar controls one of his own.
Colossal’s look into addiction, specifically how it manifests itself within the millennial generation, as well as that generation’s struggle to find its footing as professional adults and the resulting lifestyle was the most interesting part of the film. If you pay attention to lifestyle columns, you’ve probably been hearing about how much more women are drinking these days and speculation about why that is. A popular theory is that the pressures of work and home life are driving modern women to use alcohol to cope and that’s what I saw while watching Gloria. She moved away from her small town life to the big city for a fancy job but, what actually came to fruition was not as glamorous as the description. She struggled to produce the success to match the job title and adopted a hard partying lifestyle to mask the pain. Oscar also drank to cope back home in his and Gloria’s small town for similar reasons; to mask the failure he felt he’d become in comparison to those in his generation who made it out of town and on to bigger and better things and places, such as Gloria. Both set fire to people around them as they try to cope with their feelings on deficiency, lost in uncertainty and a feeling that the lives they were told to expect and strive toward growing up may never come and that that may make them failures. This theme should resonate with many milennials, perhaps leaving that portion of the audience feeling as if they’re watching their lives play out on screen.
Seeing this still developing generational dynamic explored for one of the first times on film was interesting to see. We don’t yet know what will become of the millennial generation as the modern economy delays their entry into what is generally accepted as the American adult ideal; owning a home, having a family, and an established professional career. But we can see the effects it is having on their current lives and Colossal expertly gives us a glimpse into this through the prism of a monster movie. The monsters represent each lead character’s inner demons of insecurity and improper coping mechanisms and coming to terms with each can help to quell the “monsters” within them.
Anne Hathaway is great as Gloria, a young woman stuck in a rut in-between wanting better for herself and her life but unable to stop herself from constant implosion. After facing public backlash following her Best Supporting Actress Oscar campaign and win for Les Miserables in 2013, it’s nice to see her back on screen and reminding audiences of why she became famous in the first place. Her acting ability is on full display, shuttling effortlessly between the comedic beats of the film and the full fledged emotional scenes. Jason Sudekis also does well as Oscar, showing a different side as a dramatic actor and playing against type. Those that are only familiar with his comedic work will probably be surprised at his ability to so effectively play a completely opposite role but his believability should leave most impressed.
The third act of the film while not bad did not adequately cover Gloria’s inner turmoil for me and became more of a battle/final confrontation story rather than the coming to grips with oneself conclusion I think that it should have been. Still, Colossal is worthy of a viewing; an original premise/film and look at a burgeoning sociological issue told pretty well. The performances from Hathaway and Sudekis will keep you engaged throughout and the hour and fifty minute runtime is perfect.
Image: Neon
