The moment Anne Hathaway signed on for Colossal, Nacho Vigalondo’s sci-fi pic that blends elements of classic kaiju films with indie drama, hushed excitement swept across the interwebs. Yes, Legendary and Gareth Edwards may have cooked up a thrilling rendition of Godzilla two years ago, but Vigalondo’s is billed as a much more intimate, character-driven affair, and it’s now being readied for a world premiere at the ongoing Toronto Film Festival.
To commemorate the occasion, Entertainment Weekly has blown the lid off the Hathaway-led feature, dropping a pair of new images along with an interview with the Spanish filmmaker behind the lens.
To get you up to speed, Colossal chronicles the story of Gloria, a flawed, borderline alcoholic who flees from New York amid messy break-up with fiancé (Dan Stevens). She’s now also jobless, and it’s safe to say that by the time Gloria lands in her home town with tail firmly between legs, our lead will be reflecting on where it all went wrong with childhood friend, Oscar (Jason Sudeikis). Prone to emotional outbursts, Hathaway’s damaged lead then slowly begins to discover that she is somehow connected (telepathically?) to the giant lizard rampaging around Tokyo.
Cloaked in a thick veil of mystery from the off, Nacho Vigalondo told EW that moviegoers can expect to find many twists and turns residing in Colossal:
“The movie’s coming from my obvious love towards monster movies, and I was always intrigued by the possibility of setting a monster movie story in a human scale. This is a monster movie that collides with a small indie drama, which is an interesting collision.”
A genre mash-up at its core, Vigalondo then teased the design of the monster itself, which is currently under lock and key.
“We tried to come up with a new monster. We’ve seen some of those in many films, and we tried to find something that feels unique. As the movie goes on, and you realize how this monster is connected to Gloria, you understand the nature of the beast from a new angle. So yeah, the monster has a twist.”
Colossal is poised to make a big splash at the ongoing Toronto Film Festival, though there’s currently no mention of a theatrical release date.
