Sure, prior to any recent pandemics, I made it a habit to get to the movies as often as possible, but that still doesn’t mean I see everything. Sometimes I miss something, and sometimes that something is something that probably wasn’t in theaters very long but looked really cool and I never got around to seeing.
Such was the case in 2017 when I Kill Giants came to theaters. But, as I practice good social distancing, I see it’s on Hulu and there’s no time like the present to catch up on what I missed.
Bespectacled teenager Barbara Thorson (Madison Wolfe) leads a lonely crusade in her small, Long Island town. She is on constant vigilance against giants. She claims that giants are behind most of the terrible things that happen in the world, but most people just incorrectly assume that it’s really hurricanes or earthquakes when it is, in fact, giants. She knows all kinds of giant lore, she leaves out giant traps, experiments with the correct giant bait, and carries a purse containing, she claims, a powerful, giant-killing hammer named Coveleski.
Also, no one else really believes that’s what she does. To be fair, she doesn’t tell most people that’s what she does. But there’s something going on at home. Her older sister Karen (Imogen Poots) is running herself ragged trying to keep Barbara and her brothers fed while also trying to hold down a job for reasons that aren’t explained right away. Barbara has no friends, but she also doesn’t really go out of her way to make any either, often coming across as abrasive and even verbally cruel. The closest she has to a friend is new girl Sophia (Sydney Wade) who just moved to town from England and takes a liking to Barbara even as Barbara doesn’t really encourage any sort of friendship at first.
Now, Barbara claims there’s a massive giant coming, one that will probably kill ever resident of the town if she doesn’t stop it. Can she do that? Or, more importantly, is that even true? That’s a real question at the heart of I Kill Giants. The giants may or may not be real. Barbara takes her mission very seriously, but she doesn’t really offer any evidence that it’s true, and the only times a supernatural being appears in the movie is when Barbara is alone. Granted, as the plot plays out, there’s a good reason for this, and it ties together all the reasons Barbara is the way she is, even as she pushes away well-meaning people like Sophia and her guidance counselor Mrs. Mollé (Zoe Saldana) that are just trying to help her.
Then again, this is maybe not that kind of movie. Whether or not the giants are real, the real issue at the heart of the film is Barbara’s realizing some very harsh things about life. She’s so all-encompassed with her mission that she doesn’t really even try to bond with other people. Every so often, her mission-mask slips and we see a normal teenage girl underneath. But then the moment passes and she knows exactly what to say to hurt people the most.
The script, adapted by Joe Kelly (no relation) and based on a graphic novel Kelly wrote, is largely fine, but perhaps nothing groundbreaking, and the direction of Anders Walter creates a good melancholy mood. The real standout here, in a cast made up primarily of lesser known actors, is Wolfe. She nails all the little moments and all the big ones in a character obsessed with the fantastic that may or may not actually be there. I’m hoping movies like this lead to more work for a talented young actress like her, and I Kill Giants if nothing else showcases a talented up-and-comer.
Grade: B+
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