Gigantic

Gigantic is the story of Brian (Paul Dano), a mild-mannered young mattress salesman, whose lifelong dream is to adopt a baby from China. One day he meets Harriet (Zooey Deschanel), a beautiful and puzzling girl who complicates everything by bringing the possibility of love into the equation.

Gigantic is a film that’s a bit hard to categorize. It’s sometimes a drama, sometimes a comedy, sometimes painfully realistic and sometimes a surreal fantasy. We’re still not sure what to make of the title. But what holds the film together is that it’s always a romance, and the real, awkward, lovely chemistry between Dano and Deschanel draws you in and makes you pay attention.

Both Harriet and Brian come from unconventional families who are played to perfection by veterans like John Goodman, Ed Asner, and Jane Alexander. And don’t even get us started about how much the camera loves Deschanel …and how well the wardrobe department did at styling her with outfits and accessories that add to her vintage pin-up girl appeal.

Gigantic is not a very straightforward type of film and it may not be for everyone. But we found its subtle, subversive humour both intriguing and refreshing. We were also particularly blown away by one of the most heart-wrenchingly real and honest break up scenes we’ve ever seen, with the kind of imperfect, stilted dialogue that you could actually believe would happen at such an emotional moment.

It’s funny, it’s odd, and it’s populated with a stellar cast that are veterans of the quirk factor (i.e. Little Miss Sunshine for Dano, Almost Famous for Deschanel, any Coen Brothers movie for John Goodman). If you’re looking for something off the beaten path, this may be the film for you.

Upsides:
- a refreshingly odd dramedy with an original story and surprisingly realistic dialogue
- a wonderful cast that effortlessly handles the quirk factor

Downsides:
- its subversive comedy and one particularly inexplicable plot point might not be for everyone.