A Monster Calls: Movie Review
Based on the acclaimed novel from Patrick Ness, “A Monster Calls” is a stunning and heartbreaking fantasy-drama that is easily one of 2016’s best films. Director J.A. Bayona (“The Orphanage”, “The Impossible”) knows how to visually wow an audience around a story grounded in tragedy. He uses visual effects to help service a story, rather than in place of. Serious filmgoers might be turned off by the fantastical elements in the film’s trailers, but letting those elements stop them from investing in such a cinematic masterpiece would be a big mistake.
To say Conor O’Malley (Lewis MacDougall) is living an unhappy life is an understatement. Not only is his mother (Felicity Jones) suffering from a terminal illness, but he is also constantly getting attacked by the school bully (James Melville). Conor’s father (Toby Kebbell) who began a new life in the United States has come to town, but doesn’t have a long-term commitment to his son. Conor’s grandmother (Sigourney Weaver) is not only dealing with the eventual loss of her daughter but also the fact that her grandson does not want to come live with her. The two as she puts it are not a good fit, but they are all each of them has.
When the story is not focused on Conor’s life, it shifts to his dreams where he is encountered by a giant humanoid tree monster (voiced by Liam Neeson). With each of the monster’s visits, he tells Conor a different fantastical story. Each of these tales has a point and they are to help Conor admit his greatest fear.
“A Monster Calls” works so well because it is able to balance the real world elements and fantasy elements so seamlessly. In a way it reminded me of a much more serious version of “The Neverending Story”. It’s a very different film but it does have familiar elements. The entire cast is just terrific here. Weaver and Jones deliver some of their best work to date and MacDougall does a great job as the central character. He successfully shows us Conor’s fear and pain. I also loved the look of the monster and the moment it first comes to life is spectacular on the big screen. Plus adding Neeson’s voice to almost anything makes it that much cooler.
Although “A Monster Calls” has seen a few release date shifts, the studio was wise to push it back to January, so it doesn’t get lost against the holiday films. Unfortunately this one might be a hard sell to a broad audience, but I sure hope enough people seek it out and take a chance.
By Marc Ferman
