A fairy tale that surprises
A Monster Calls Running time: 1hr 48min Starring: Lewis MacDougall, Sigourney Weaver, Felicity Jones, Toby Kebbell, Liam Neeson, Geraldine Chaplin Director: JA Bayona J.A. Bayona’s A Monster Calls is built around a series of encounters between the titular monster and a boy whose mother (Felicity Jones) is fighting cancer, and the film brings some of the creepiness of the Spaniard’s 2007 debut The Orphanage to what might otherwise be mildly sappy family fare.
Conor (Lewis MacDougall) has been having horrific nightmares during his mother’s long illness, watching over and over as a hole opens violently in the earth beneath a nearby church. It’s not surprising when the majestic old tree beside that church writhes wildly into life, stomps over to the his window, and announces, “I have come to get you.”
The tree promises that he’ll return to tell Conor a story, then demand a tale from him in return.
When the monster comes back, he insists that Conor mentally envision each story as vividly as he can. So it goes each night. The movie’s nocturnal exploration of misplaced sympathies sheds light on the messier details of Conor’s family life.
Surprised when his grieffuelled outbursts of violence aren’t punished, Conor is asked more than once, “What could possibly be the point?” The fact that not every terrible thing can be remedied or punished is a tough lesson even for adults to learn, but A Monster Calls helps find the sense in it. – Hollywood Reporter