Now “Gigantic” looks, walks and talks, superficially, like the twee-emo indie films we’ve been complaining about lately, but the winning film balances any feyness it may have with a tenderness and keen screenplay that refuses to dumb down or give easy explanations to its audience. The film now has a release date which is April 3 in limited release (as promised) and it was one of the more enjoyable films we saw at the Toronto Film Festival last September.
In a post last year we said: “Exhibiting a disarming charm, a penchant for wise ambiguity and a loopiness that’s never too precious, ‘Gigantic’ centers around a mattress store employee (Dano) who has a strange obsession with adopting an Asian baby, but complicates this plan when he falls for a odd girl (Zooey Deschanel) who inadvertently becomes part of his life due to her overbearing father (an excellent John Goodman). The film was a joy to watch with smart, sharp writing.
Directed by original new voice Matt Aselton, the film is both a love story and a family tale about connection and letting go of our collective neuroses. It was effortlessly endearing and aside from excellent principal leads Dano and Deschanel it boasts an incredible supporting cast of Zack Galifianakis, Ed Asner (who is superb!), Jane Alexander, Ian Roberts and Clarke Peters from “The Wire,” that made it all the more awesome.
It certainly has traces of indie-quirk fest here and there, but it’s a fresh one and its never obnoxious. We’ve already noted all the music in the film which includes a winsome score from Imperial Teen founder and ex-Faith No More keyboardist Roddy Bottum, plus features music by British folkis Richard and Linda Thompson, Animal Collective and Edith Frost. Now all we need is a trailer.
