Gigantic review

Paul Dano cements his status as this generation’s Bud Cort (watch Harold And Maude – see?) in this woozy comedy about a New York mattress salesman who won’t sleep until he has adopted a Chinese baby.

Into his life comes a bullish businessman ( John Goodman) whose doe-eyed daughter (Zooey Deschanel) takes a shine to this Manhattan misfit. With Dano inexplicably stalked by a homeless assassin, there’s no telling how this love story will pan out.

Taking his cue from his leading man’s minimalist, self-effacing performance, director and co-writer Matt Aselton has fashioned a wry homage to eccentricity that treads a fine line between well-observed naturalism and surreal absurdity.

The result is as tiny as its title is big, with a couple of ripe turns to savour from Edward Asner and Jane Alexander as Dano’s elderly parents. But it’s fair to say that the characters aren’t quite as loveable as Aselton would have us believe.