'A Monster Calls'

In cinemas now!

Conor (Lewis MacDougal) lives with his sick mother (Felicity Jones) whose condition is rapidly declining. Despite the presence of a somewhat militant grandmother (Sigourney Weaver) and a loving but absentee father (Toby Kebell), the two of them are very much all each other have and as a result his mothers failing health is hitting Conor hard. He has no friends, doesn't relate to the rest of his relatives and is habitually bullied at school.

​Searching for a friend and some guidance one night the ground begins to crack and as Conor looks out to the nearby graveyard the tree that looms over the area comes to life, tearing itself from the ground and marching down to Conor's bedroom window. The Monster (Liam Neeson) tells Conor that he has come to tell him 3 stories and after those Conor is to tell him a story that will be Conor's truth.

What follows is a touching extremely surreal movie as the Monster comforts Conor in a weirdly uncomforting way, forcing Conor to confront his emotions and ultimately the truth of his situation. Whether or not the Monster is real or just a figment of Conor's imagination is a question that continually comes up and whether or not you're left with a real answer is not something I'm going to spoil here.

What is worth noting is that this film was not what I was expecting on any level. The subject matter is deadly serious, Conor's interactions with the Monster are a truly unreal experience, a level of dreamlike surrealism whose messages reach much deeper than you might be prepared for. There's no family friendly sweetness to be found here, Conor is dealing with some serious issues and there's no sugar coating any of it.

This is both a compliment and a complaint in many ways, it's a strange film that I wasn't mentally prepared for at the time but it was undoubtedly compelling and if you can get on board with the symbolism you'll find an extremely enriching emotional experience.

I'm not going to say it's a great film, and it might not work for some for the reasons I've already stated, but I was engaged and I'd recommend it, but don't be fooled into thinking this is going to be a kid friendly experience, it really isn't.

Review by Kristian Mitchell-Dolby.

Tell us what you think!
Rate the film and why not write your own review in the comments?