A MONSTER CALLS (2017) FILM REVIEW

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​​​12A, 108 Mins.

A Monster Calls provides a magical mix of dark fantasy, nostalgic coming-of-age drama and tear-jerking melodrama with aplomb

Having enchanted a handful of children and adults alike in its novel form, Patrick Ness’s award-winning dark children’s fantasy novel finally makes its big screen appearance scripted by Ness himself and directed by J.A Bayona (‘The Orphanage’ (2007), ‘The Impossible’ (2012)).

‘A Monster Calls’ sees 14 year old newcomer Lewis McDougal approaching the role of Connor O’Malley- a young boy living a life that couldn’t possibly be more of a living hell. Living in a run-down country house, severely bullied Connor is forced to be a carer for his Cancer-stricken mother Lizzie (Felicity Jones); while his divorced father (Toby Kebbell) lives far across the pond in L.A. Things take a harrowing turn for the worse when it turns out Lizzie’s cancer is terminal and Connor is forced to stay with his stiff, uptight grandmother (Sigourney Weaver) who he hates to his guts. How could things get any more tumultuous for poor Connor O’Malley?

Well perhaps the arrival of a giant, tree-like creature known as “The Monster” (Liam Neeson) in his back garden who demands Connor listen to his three meaningful stories before Connor tells him a fourth- a story that Connor is deeply afraid of. Does “The Monster” hold the key to solving Connor’s childhood crisis?

As someone with something of a soft spot for both dark, Burtonesque kid’s fantasies and soppy Spielbergian coming-of-age tales, ‘A Monster Calls’ certainly seemed right up my street. Coming out of the cinema, I was left with not only one MASSIVE lump in my throat that had stayed with me throughout the film, but also a rounded feeling of sadness, joy and nostalgia in equal measure.

To call ‘A Monster Calls’ fantasy seems almost unfair and likely to put off anyone who doesn’t find talking tree giants remotely interesting. Please don’t be fooled by the title. At heart, this is a gritty, thought-provoking and- at times- unsettling tale of one child’s use of wild imagination to escape the traumas of everyday life and one that will ring true to any child out there who has ever had to rely on their senses to get through a tumultuous period.

Some may argue that the film’s kitchen sink drama-like exploration of rural poverty, bullying and terminal illness will prove too intense for the youngest of viewers. While there is a degree of truth in this, for mature children; this is every bit a must watch as it is for the adults accompanying.

‘A Monster Calls’ makes every use of the words “magical realism” taking familial themes grounded in this world and producing something totally out of this world. While the film’s story will iinadvertently draw comparisons to the likes of Roald Dahl’s ‘The BFG’, Disney’s ‘Pete’s Dragon’ and Tim Burton’s ‘Big Fish’ (2003), there’s something of a darker, more world-weary  undercurrent here that has most common with the rich Spanish Civil War monster politics of Guillermo Del Toro’s astonishing ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (2006).

It’s hardly surprising that- despite a quintessentially British setting- ‘A Monster Calls’ has many of the grungy Iberian aesthetics of a Del Toro production given Del Toro produced Director Bayona’s chilling Spanish language debut ‘The Orphanage’ (2007). The visionary Mexican auteur’s influence is very much felt here especially in the design applied to “The Monster” which uses a deliciously textured blend of physical practical effects and awe-inspiring motion capture technology to bring together a fantastical creature that is both terrifying and beautiful in all the best senses.

However the influence from Spanish fantasy cinema goes beyond production design. Like ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’, ‘A Monster Calls’ explores the concept of a child’s internal imagination providing refuge from an outside world that threatens to rob them from any hope of a happy life. However- in the place of 1940s Fascist Francophone Spain- here we have the even gloomier British countryside and what couldn’t be a grottier estate of sorts.

At the film’s heart, however, lies a heartfelt, career-making performance from Lewis McDougall. Director Bayona has already proved himself to be a master at getting terrifically versatile central performances out of child actors in both his two previous films and ‘A Monster Calls’ is no exception. McDougall effortlessly captures the screen by getting to the core of a young adolescent’s inner-turmoil bringing to the role a genuine mix of helplessness, intuition and escapism.

McDougall’s scenes with Felicity Jones- on reliably terrific form-as Connor’s mother are truly heart-wrenching and will leave even the most stone-faced of viewers struggling to hold back the tears streaming from their eyes. While such unashamed sentimentality could easily come across as mawkish in any other hands, Bayona gives the film’s mother-son scenes an almost brutal sense of realism that never feels in the slightest bit manipulative.

It’s not perfect. Sigourney Weaver’s dodgily forced English-accented grandmother figure feels uncomfortably stiff and out of place amongst the poignant emotional pathos and it’s not always entirely clear what is real and what is imagined.
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However- do not be put off- this is a film rich in magic and mythology that will make everybody in the audience wish they were 6 once again yet simultaneously feels grounded in reality and the fact that Bayona’s next project is the ‘Jurassic Park 5’ is definitely something to be excited about!