A Monster Calls (2016)

A Monster Calls (2016)

9/10

 Starring

Sigourney Weaver

Felicity Jones

Toby Kebbell

Lewis MacDougall

Liam Neeson (voice of monster)

 

Directed by J. A. Bayona

 

This movie’s ability to merge dark fantasy, with a griping plot to deliver a not so common entry into the genre, that will have you captured and taken from your viewing sit into the movie itself.

I have to say this is not one of those movies you can fully grasp the power it delivers in one watch. It has a captivating story, excellent script, and magnificent performances from the the cast especially Lewis MacDougall.

The movie is based on a 2011 novel of the same name by Patrick Ness, from an original idea from Siobhan Dowd, who died before writing the book. Dowd had set structure to which Ness used to write the fantasy novel.

The story follows a young twelve-year-old named Conor who lives with her terminally ill mother, who is separated from his father. Conor’s grandmother regularly visits them and tells Conor that he will be living with her, during his mother’s cancer treatment. Conor dislikes his grandmother because of her cold personality and hates the idea that he will have to be living with her. Before the move, Conor gets a scary visit from a monster who tells him that he will share with him three stories to which Conor will have to tell him one.

The movie is not only focused on the stories from the monster – we get to witness the challenges this twelve-year-old faces in school. Conor is a victim of daily bullying and his father seems to love him very much, but cannot have Conor stay with him. Conor’s father now lives in the U.S. with his new wife and daughter.

The great part of the movie are the stories which deliver some very heavy, but truly remarkable life lessons which we all know, but we should never get tired of hearing.

The first story has the below messages:

-          Truth/reality many a times feels like cheating. Like life has short changed you giving the best to everyone and leaving you with nothing.

-          Good people die early for no reason and sometimes evil people merit saving.

-          There is nobody that is completely good or bad, we are all a mixture of the two.

The second story has the below messages:

-          Be careful what you believe and in whom you place your belief. Belief is half of all healing. There he talks about believing the future that awaits will be better than the present will help to heal the wounds of today.

The third story has more of a revelation:

-          A man who was invisible to everyone, lashed out to be visible and became more invisible. In the terms of a lonely person tries to fight the loneliness by being around others, only to feel more lonely.

The movie was not a box office success, but a critical one with gained numerous accolades.

Worth seeing more than once a fantastic movie that captures you from the moment it starts even before the monster shows up you are already arrested. A keeper to watch again and even sit with your children to share the experience.