Gigantic

Release Date (UK) - 19 June 2009

Certificate (UK) - 15

Country - USA

Director - Matt Aselton

Runtime - 98 mins

Starring - Paul Dano, Zooey Descahnel, John Goodman

Paul Dano, of Little Miss Sunshine fame, is mattress salesmen Brian whose dream since the age of 8 has been to adopt a Chinese baby. Like the majority of the film this urge isn't explained; Brian's own family are quirky (one scene follows an annual male bonding trip to the woods to take magic mushrooms) but loving and Brian's maternal instinct may stem from hints that he struggled to cope as a child with his parents being older than average or perhaps a desire to have a younger brother of his own as he is the youngest of three.

The comic relief is provided by John Goodman, a hypochondriac who buys the most expensive mattress in the warehouse from Brian (in a hope to cure the back problems his specialist tells him are non existent). He later sends his daughter Happy (Zooey Deschanel) to pay for it and the plot seems to be heading towards a typical love story between Brian and Happy. However the focus of the film is more on their own personal relationships and decisions in life, urging the viewer to take a look at their own. Happy has so little contact with her mother she has to search for her phone number on the internet, and her father chastises her for constantly changing careers. Brian is repeatedly followed and attacked by a homeless man whose unaccountable actions leads us to believe he is a figment of his imagination, of personal demons he must overcome, although his wounds are real as they are questioned by others. Thus the film mixes the surreal with the real, and is neither a romance or a comedy as we're left unsure of what genre box to place it in.

The film leaves you still wondering afterwards; what part of Brian's Psyche did the homeless man really represent, and what on earth was 'Gigantic' - although the tagline gives a sort of clue here - 'When it comes to family and relationships, there are no small surprises' -suggesting the film is full of these gigantic life surprises for Brian which he seems to take in his stride, whether this be the the homeless mans' attacks, meeting Happy or the success of getting his baby. But that's the point of the film, to make us question our own motivations with a light hearted view on other peoples.

The pace is occasionally painfully slow but the gentle laughs are well worth the wait - Edward Asner as Brian's Father hilariously observes on modern lifestyles - however some audiences may get frustrated with the slow pace and lack of explanations - 4 people walked out of my sparsely attended screening but if you like a more independent style then its well worth a watch.