A surreal and serious tone for Gigantic

That seems to be a contradiction in terms — but then, so does the whole film, which looks like an American version of Buñuel without the artistic wherewithal to be convincing.

This is a pity since it has a great cast, is carefully made and not without skill and resource.

Even so, you leave wondering what it is all about. "I’m interested in talented people with little ambition, loudmouths and boot-strappers,’’ says debut director Aselton.

The whey-faced Paul Dano is the man with little ambition, though very few mattress salesmen like him are stalked for no apparent reason by a homeless assassin, or are determined to adopt a Chinese baby as a single parent.

His elderly parents are Ed Asner and Jane Alexander.

The girl he fancies is Zooey Deschanel, who says she’s a prostitute and invites him to have sex in her dad’s car.

Dad is John Goodman, a martyr to his back, who gets in after they’ve finished and complains of the odour.

Is this a New York version of The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie?

If so, it isn’t as funny nor as able to stimulate the senses, and one gets a bit tired of Dano’s shtick as a young man with a kind of stuttering charm that makes girls want to cuddle him.

But Asner and Goodman provide great character studies, Deschanel is as prettily charming as ever and the surreal tone of the film at least attempts something special though rarely achieving it.

Gigantic
Cert: 15