A Monster Calls (2016)
“Too old to be a kid. Too young to be a man”
So how does the story begin?
“It begins like so many stories. With a boy, too old to be a kid. Too young to be a man. And a nightmare”.
“I know everything about you, the truth that you hide, the truth you dream”.
“Because humans are complicated beasts. You believe comforting lies, while knowing full well the painful truth that makes those lies necessary”.
“Stories are wild animals… if you let them loose, who knows what havoc they may wreak”.
Some selected quotes from a gem of a film I fondly recall watching numerous times with my then much younger son.
One of us left the cinema each time sobbing his heart out.
Anyway…
Based on an original idea by Siobhan Dowd and written for the screen by Patrick Ness based on his novel of the same name, A Monster Calls is many things: exceptional, brilliant, heart breaking, originally unique, and these are just the tip of a huge list of superlatives I could apply to this film. It is also the third in a trilogy of Mother/Son stories directed by Juan Antonio Bayona and by far his most accomplished to date but which touches upon familiar themes throughout his cinematic work to date: those of life, death, dealing with mortality, childhood trauma, facing your fears and even facing the most difficult experience of all, that of the truth.
A Monster Calls is a fantasy fairy tale but one that is truly grounded in reality and where it truly excels and triumphs is by blurring the lines between fantasy and reality as well as introducing a really difficult subject matter into what should ostensibly be a children’s story but which is anything but. I couldn’t wait for the release of this film on New Years Day 2017 after seeing the trailer on my countless trips to my local cinema and A Monster Calls truly did not disappoint and nor does it on repeated viewings.
12:07am will never be the same again when you’ve watched this film and should you watch this film for the first time after reading these rambling words, take a healthy amount of tissues with you as you’re going to need them!
The Mother and Son in Bayona’s latest cinematic treat are “Mum” (Felicity Jones) and “Conor” (Lewis McDougall) who in the absence of estranged Husband and “Dad” (Toby Kebbell) live together in a run down terraced house in England. They also live with a horrible truth that is established very early in the film with Conor’s Mum suffering from a terminal condition that without a life saving medical breakthrough, she may succumb to the disease hanging over her and her young son. It is against this backdrop that young teenage Conor lives his life coupled with the threat of an overbearing and interfering “Grandma” (Sigourney Weaver) making his life ever more difficult, so he retreats at exactly 12:07am every night into a fantastical, fairy tale world inhabited by “The Monster” (voiced by Liam Neeson).
“Too old to be a kid. Too young to be a man” and thus one of the many obstacles in front of young Conor. Bullied at school and haunted by continual nightmares, Conor is a mature and independent young man way beyond his tender years but dealing with the fallout of his Mother’s illness is taking a huge toll on him as he tries in vain to come to terms with the horrific situation. Isolated, angry and destructive, Conor retreats further and further into his own world and a world that perhaps he can control as he emulates his Mother’s talent for sketches and drawings as well as his waking dream world with The Monster. Conor seeks help from The Monster and although he may not see it, the help comes in the form of three separate stories told by his new found friend but only if Conor agrees to tell his story after.
“Stories are wild creatures” according to The Monster and quickly he seemingly empowers Conor who is in desperate need of help and reassurance as well as an escape from the horrible truth that hangs over his family. As with Simon in The Orphanage and Lucas in The Impossible, Bayona again brilliantly focuses on, frames and shoots this film through the eyes of its child star and here Lewis McDougall is absolutely phenomenal, magnetic and heart breaking in his portrayal of Conor. Besieged on all sides and truly a child in an adult world his performance is awe inspiring and a wonderful achievement from one so young and in only his second feature length film following his debut in 2015’s Pan. McDougall is also surrounded here by some stellar acting performances, particularly from Felicity Jones who at first glance is completely unrecognisable in her role of Conor’s Mum and similarly to her young co-star, Jones’ performance is utterly heart breaking. Sigourney Weaver portrays stern Matriarch and pushy Grandma particularly well in a cameo role and a stand out line from the film as she chastises her young grandson with a telling “I’m not the enemy Conor”. Toby Kebbell remains one of my favourite actors of recent times and again does not disappoint in his anchor role of an absent Dad and Liam Neeson’s gruff tones voice the all important fairy tale Monster.
Quite simply, A Monster Calls is undoubtedly one of my favourite films of 2017 and indeed of recent times. Heart breaking and a real character study on the grieving process and overcoming insurmountable odds at such a young age, Director Bayona rounds off his Mother/Son trilogy brilliantly with an atmospheric, thought provoking and gut wrenching film that I had the twisted pleasure of seeing three times at my local cinema and now twice since its DVD release and I’ve adored it every single time. The film resonates with me on a number of levels having had a similar experience as Conor’s and so my love for the film may be a little myopic but make no mistake, despite the film’s tough through line it’s a brilliantly crafted joy of a film and one that I’ve taken something different from on every single viewing.
Highly recommended!
Just remember to pack some tissues.
The Orphanage, The Impossible and A Monster Calls
J A Bayona’s “Mother and Son Trilogy” for your spoiler free delectation
“A Monster Calls” can also be found within my 7 volumes of “Essential Film Reviews Collection” on Amazon with each and every volume free to read should you have a Kindle “Unlimited” package. All 9 of my self-published books can also be read for free on Kindle (but go on, treat yourself to a paperback or hardback version!) and should you watch my short Youtube video linked in the middle of this article you’ll also find links to my Patreon and Buy Me A Coffee and other ways of supporting my work as an independent writer.
"The Essential Film Reviews Collection VOL.1" - link to Amazon
Thanks for reading. I hope this message in a bottle in The Matrix finds you well, prospering, and the right way up in an upside down world.