A monster movie with Anne Hathaway as a woman able to control a monster’s movements?  I had to see this.  Colossal is more of a character piece than an actual monster movie, and it is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.  It is original, and leads to unexpected places, but in the end I didn’t really think it succeeded; it seems more like an experimental theatre piece than a movie.

Nacho Vigalondo’s film centers on Gloria (Anne Hathaway), an unkempt party girl who returns to her small New York hometown to put her life back together.  She gradually realizes that she is connected, somehow, to the kaiju-like monster that occasionally rampages through Seoul, South Korea.  Gloria proves this to a trio of friends (Jason Sudeikis, Tim Blake Nelson, Austin Stowell), which eventually leads to chaos and a rampaging giant robot.  Can Gloria find a way to stop destruction halfway around the world when she can barely keep herself together?

Utterly original and mostly interesting, Colossal mixes fantasy into a surprisingly pedestrian plot in which Gloria must determine who she is and what she wants out of life.  While she centers the plot the script pinpoints Oscar (Jason Sudeikis) as its pivotal character.  He isn’t who he seems to be; or perhaps the power of knowing Gloria’s secret (and ability of joining her) transforms him into a monster of a man.  This was very interesting at first, but his wild switches from caring friend to soulless bully became unbelievable and ugly pretty quickly.

The story climaxes in Seoul, as Gloria confronts her past head on in a sequence that is head-spinning in its reversals of scale.  I appreciate its originality but I think writer-director Vigalondo really stretches to find a way to conclude his fantasy, and is only partly successful.  I liked how Gloria reacts to the knowledge that her actions have global consequences, but Oscar’s actions are so off-putting that the story devolves rather than elevates.  I would rate this movie as a near-miss.  ☆ ☆ 1/2.  19 October 2017.