Review of A Monster Calls (2016) by Warwick B — 04 Feb 2017
Talented Spanish filmaker JA Bayona adapts the bestselling novel of the same name by Patrick Ness into an ambitious, dark, fairytale fantasy. It is the story of an imaginative, teenage boy and his mother who has a life threatening illness.
Life for Connor (Lewis MacDougall) is a struggle - he's being bullied at school, his mother Lizzie (Felicity Jones) is dying of cancer, his absent father (Toby Kebbell) is living in America and he's forced to live with his prim and proper grandmother (Sigourney Weaver). To help him deal with his situation Connor conjures up a gigantic tree monster (voiced by Liam Neeson) that promises to help him through the telling of folk stories. But what lessons can be learnt from these tales exploring courage, loss and faith?
A Monster Calls is essentially a mother and son story that is universal in scope, expertly crafted and powerful. This visually inventive piece of magical realism is compelling and emotionally charged through some supreme direction from a spot on screenplay. While both Jones and Kebbell impress, Weaver is miscast. Neeson is a commanding presence with voice and CGI capture but it's the brilliant, charismatic lead, MacDougall, that truly shines veering from sensitive to hurt to wild and angry on his transformative and inspiring story.
This review of A Monster Calls (2016) was written by Warwick B on 04 Feb 2017.
A Monster Calls has generally received very positive reviews.
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