Double Crossword
1 Staunch Pole in treacherous old Eastern capital (14) 10 West Indian switched to car in Peru (6,5) 11 Help servant take off her top (3) 12 Hot-headed spots on the skin (4) 13 Plant is paid badly by university faculty in return (10) 15 Failing to develop vibrato sections before the end of the piece (8) 16 Split with speed of light up before holiday (6) 19 Enlarge or shrink text endlessly (6) 20 Reduce the volume and go blue (4,4) 23 Lovely appearance of clothing strung up around a store (10) 25 Gag the last of the passengers to enter plane (4) 27 Carpet three quarters of China (3) 28 With pesto, ate two serves of vegetable (5,6) 29 Crown dependency’s wasteland, less an inch (7,7) 2 Go too far with a film of six balls? (9) 3 Loose ties to the plot (4) 4 Scratching bar is out in the street (8) 5 Alarm bell can be ringing regular forces (6) 6 Peaceable and not about to cover conflict in novel (10) 7 Scheme, given time, works (5) 8 Final moves of tragically aged men (7) 9 Special statuary, say, set high above a Greek city (6) 14 Means to make child a cathedral builder? (10) 17 Already mentioned a van’s 11-across (9) 18 Throbs unless regularly inserted between heads (8) 19 Bound, with jumping mice, to only be found locally (7) 21 Point man made on lacking leadership in the country (6) 22 Not like a bore to be out of sorts (6) 24 Supplementary tax rate’s not at fault (5) 26 Goat butchered by Caesar’s outfit (4) 1 Pomposity, bombastic speech (14) 10 Harrowing, like a bad dream (11) 11 Encountered (3) 12 Dismissed, cut (4) 13 Fortify, buttress (10) 15 Emotionally demonstrative (8) 16 Nocturnal burrowing rodent (6) 19 Sea in northern Europe (6) 20 Humorous banter (8) 23 The book industry (10) 25 Gusto, relish (4) 27 Tavern (3) 28 Disposition, classification (11) 29 Mischief, tomfoolery (6,8) Across: - 1 Plunged. 5 Unblock. 9 Cosmetic surgery. 10 Afar. 11 Sketchbook. 14 Eloquent. 15 Pallor. 17 Settee. 18 Diverted. 21 Joyfulness. 22 Aria. 24 Under-the-counter. 26 Nonstop. 27 Stardom. 2Contrite, sorry (9) 3 Clear of all taxes and deductions (4) 4 Dormant (8) 5 Conjectured, supposed (6) 6 Insanitary (10) 7 Greek nature goddess (5) 8 19-across nation (7) 9 Risky, insecure (6) 14 Absorb into a wider group (10) 17 Innocent (9) 18 Alerts, cautions (8) 19 Christening (7) 21 Being, thing (6) 22 Angelic child (6) 24 West African nation (5) 26 Miserly (4) Down: - 1 Package. 2 Unseaworthy. 3 Grew. 4 Drinking. 5 Upsets. 6 Bare-headed. 7 Ode. 8 Kayaker. 12 Obliterated. 13 Bureaucrat. 16 Dissects. 17 Sojourn. 19 Diagram. 20 Unship. 23 Puma. 25 Dun.
and adapted by writer Patrick Ness from his 2011 novel, the whole endeavour runs a high risk of drowning in melodrama. But the movie avoids that pitfall, because nothing about the story or characters is easy or straightforward. Conor is certainly worthy of our pity, but he also can be a brat. He’s not one of those insufferably precocious whippersnappers that exist only on the big screen. The character has some anger management issues – understandably.
Meanwhile, the morals of the monster’s stories aren’t easy for a kid to parse. Aesop’s fables they are not. In one tale, a witch turns out to be harmless, but she’s exiled anyway. An evil prince becomes a king in another, enjoying a long, successful reign. Sometimes bad things happen to good people, the boy realises. And sometimes unlikeable people do good.
That nuanced approach to storytelling seals the fate of the fantasy, which is best suited for older kids and adults. When Conor’s dad (Toby Kebbell) finally shows up, he explains that happily-ever-after isn’t a reality for most people. “Most of us just get messily-everafter,” he explains. “And that’s all right.”
The movie is memorable for its stunning and inventive imagery, especially when the tree-monster’s tales spring to life as little works of art set in motion. Those tales provide a beautiful respite from the grim reality of Conor’s life, both for him and for the audience. But that respite won’t last forever, and our hero will eventually have to face his emotions and learn to channel them properly.
Viewers don’t have to be nearly so stoic: They can just let the tears flow. – Washington Post