September 11, 2008: Gigantic
We’re still at the Toronto International Film Festival. Gigantic was running at a more sane mid-afternoon time, unlike the extreme timings of the past two reviews. This is a low-budget Hollywood effort, with some real names, without any distribution arrangement yet. I expect that it will see a theatrical run eventually, due to the star presence of Zooey Deschanel and Paul Dano, with supporting roles by the likes of John Goodman and Ed Asner.
Paul Dano plays a young New Yorker who works selling beds and mattresses in an odd warehouse retail space. His goal in life is to adopt a Chinese baby. Zooey Deschanel happens into the store to arrange for payment and pickup of a mattress purchased by her eccentric father John Goodman (seeing him getting into his car and being driven around the city is worth the price of admission alone). Standard romatic dramedy plot devices go into play, and you know how it will play out.
Or do you?
Well, the overall arc of the two getting together, breaking up, and getting back together is there. We daren’t stray from that convention, of course. But the way they get there isn’t as contrived as it can sometimes be in these faux-indie productions, with some really sweet moments slipped in there and real conflict rather than relying on obvious misunderstandings. And the ending is handled very nicely, avoiding the easy Hollywood route but suggesting that the real life way of ending up happy might be even better.
I’m a Zooey Deschanel fan, though I haven’t sought out her more recent starring roles; her bit-parts in movies such as Almost Famous are memorable, though. And she’s the daughter of celebrated (and five-time Oscar nominated) cinematographer Caleb Deschanel, though she hasn’t rested on typical Hollywood nepotism, exercising her singing talent in the group She and Him as well.
Paul Dano doesn’t quite distinguish himself for me. His roles in Little Miss Sunshine and There Will Be Blood seem like they should have led to memorable and well-defined performances, but I feel like he hasn’t quite settled into a groove yet. He’s kind of like a more brooding Zach Braff – you could have put him in Garden State and the movie would have been pretty much the same only a little bit more glum. So I can take him or leave him. Not entirely believable as a romantic lead.
Overall, this one is recommended for the non-standard ending, the charm of Zooey Deschanel and the willingness to deviate a bit from the well-worn romantic dramedy path, but it still suffers from being too consciously “indie”.
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