151. I Kill Giants; movie review

I KILL GIANTS
Cert 12A
106 mins
BBFC advice: Contains moderate threat, violence, language, scenes of emotional distress

Recently, there seems to have be a rash of films which have taken so long to resonate with me that I have nearly given up.
I Kill Giants is typical - I spent about an hour being frustrated by it and then, during its final 30 minutes, I exclaimed to myself: "ah, that's what it's about."
What is clear however, is that it includes a superb contribution by 15-year old Madison Wolfe.
She plays Barbara, a teenager who, for much of Anders Walter's movie, appears to have very distressing mental health issues.
Barbara struggles to make a connection with family, teachers or fellow schoolchildren, setting herself apart by wearing a rabbit-ear Alice band and insisting on the reality of her fantasies.
Yes, Barbara sets traps for the giants she believes will precipitate the end of mankind but is convinced her magic baseball will stave off their danger.
Meanwhile, her elder sister (Imogen Poots), her psychologist (Zoe Saldana) and the nearest person she has to a friend (Sydney Wade) are at the end of their respective tethers with her.
My initial irritation with I Kill Giants was because I believed any child with Barbara's problems would have had supervision which would have prevented her putting herself in danger.
True, there are some dramatic special effects and Barbara's seaside hide-out rekindles childhood nostalgia (not that I ever had one!).
And, as said, when it finally reached its conclusion, the mist cleared and the film made much more sense.
But I didn't enjoy being tested for so long and wish film-makers would stop doing it.

Reasons to watch: Clever and engaging portrayal of a troubled child
Reasons to avoid: Takes too long to get into its stride

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit:  None
Nudity:  None
Overall rating: 7/10

Director quote - Anders Walter: " I fell deeply, madly in love with the script. I learned that it was based on a graphic novel, and I went down to my local comic-book pusher and I got a copy and read it, and I was like, “Wow, what a story."

The big question - Why are some children so cruel?

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