A Monster Calls

A Monster Calls is a profoundly sad film. Based on a novel by Patrick Ness (which in itself was based on an idea by the late Siobhan Dowd), the film follows an emotionally troubled lad named Conor O’Malley. He is bullied at school, has trouble connecting with people, has an estranged father who now lives in LA and his mother is suffering from a terminal illness. With the prospect of his world closing around him, one night Conor inadvertently meets a “monster”, who takes the form of a giant humanoid yew tree. The Monster returns on random nights at 12:07 and wants to tell Conor three stories, the purpose of which Conor must solve on his own…

While it's hard to know who A Monster Calls is aimed for and, while it's far from a perfect film, it does eventually hit those emotional beats – and hits them hard. Lewis MacDougall gives an excellent performance as Conor. He is a deeply sad and angry child, navigating through great emotions and MacDougall manages to balance them all to make a powerful performance. It is fairly unique to have a child character like this on the big screen and I applaud the actor and filmmakers for pushing this element. Liam Neeson plays the titular monster, who breathes great life and gravitas to the character. The Monster essentially serves as a visual portrait for the range of emotions that Conor is experiencing, along with the fully illustrated the individual stories, which we’ll get to. The Monster is render in stunning 3D animation and is a very believable CGI creation. You get the sense of his age and wisdom just through the design. The rest of the performances are also just as fine – Felicity Jones trades in a great performance as the mother (light years away from her wooden and emotionless performance as Jyn Erso in Rogue One). Signorney Weaver tries to adopt an English accent and for the most part she does fine; she’s very convincing as the strict but ultimately loving grandmother, coping with slowly losing a daughter but also trying to connect with her somewhat estranged grandson. Conor’s father is also an interesting character, separated from Conor's mother and living abroad. It would be very easy to paint him as a negative figure but actually they did do spend time establishing the connection between father and son – he’s loving but he also has his own separate life to lead.

However, the heart of the film is the emotional turmoil of Conor. When the film concentrates on this aspect it soars. The Monster tells Conor three stories which serves to illustrate the rollercoaster ride of emotions he is experiencing. One is a complex tale, set in a fairy tale kingdom, illustrating the illusion of ‘good’ acts and ‘bad’ acts. Another is about a conflict between an apothecary and a parson during the Industrial Revolution, showing the difficulty of maintaining integrity in a difficult situation (which also has ramifications in the real world, which I won’t spoil here as it’s probably the best scene in the film). And finally, a tale of anger and vengeance. The stories are rendered in gorgeous abstract animation and help to elevate the film’s themes and messages. However, when it strips these back and directly tackles Conor’s feelings the film takes the time to show this in a stark and realistic manner in the particular in the film's final act (albeit with a giant talking tree). When a quiet moment is required, it is presented as such and is a sign of the quality of the direction. 

The film does suffer from some script problems. The opening 15 minutes are a bit clunky and  the dialogue does suffer outside of Conor and The Monster’s interactions. The bully dialogue we’ve heard a hundred times before and reads almost like a state-mandated drama school script. I also feel the mother’s dialogue is a bit too saintly. It does hint at the real ramifications of the situation she's in with heated arguments behind closed doors but with Conor the dialogue is a little bit too … well movie script I guess. The film is really at its best in the real world scenes when it is stripped back – one of the most powerful scenes has no dialogue whatsoever or like with the interactions with the father, where they struggle to express their emotions. This is much more like real life and the film rides the line between realistic and movie dialogue. Now you could argue that the mother is putting this on for Conor but I don’t know…I just think it would have made for a powerful contrast. Pan's Labyrinth is great example of how to balance stark realism and fantasy elements in one and A Monster Calls should probably have taken more from this book. 

However, that being said, when A Monster Calls gets rolling, it really gets rolling. Some bad dialogue aside, it is a hugely emotional film that seems to encourage stories as healing. We attach ourselves to fictional stories as we can see ourselves in them. They become part of the healing process following significant trauma or a negative event and help us make sense of where we are emotionally at. This is the power of fiction. When A Monster Calls gets it right, it really gets it right and becomes a rewarding experience. I respect the intentions of the film, even if some of the execution isn't perfect. And it can safely join the category of films that leave me an emotional wreck at the end of the film.

Rating: 7/10