A Monster Calls (2016)'s comments

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jm_london

WOW! An AMAZING movie!

Terminal illness, loneliness, school bullying, bitter grandmother, detached parents, white lies, and, above all, the main subject, inner fears. With such a collection of topics, it probably takes more than one viewing to understand the film in all its depth.

They found the perfect way to handle this incredibly good topic, -how to deal with our inner fears-, that could not be easily developed in cinema, and they managed to convey the message without lecturing or being moralistic.

The acting is so good that it makes it very easy to suspend the disbelief, and this is rich coming from someone who loves realism and usually criticizes the use of special effects.

The boy actor is sublime, I wonder where he got all that anger from? The director did a great job with him. Sigourney Weaver nails it as his grandmother, strict and distant but not like Cinderella's stepmother or to the point to call social services. I loved her character, I wanted to know more about her, but the film is not about her, and giving her more screen time would have distracted from the main story. Maybe now they can make another film -a prequel- about her? LOL

But it is the monster who steals the show. He -and what he represents- is ugly, nasty, harsh and coarse. But listening to what he has to say and facing the truth allows us to grow as human beings.

There will be pain. And then, even more pain. But you will be fine.

7 years 2 months ago

TheNorthernNerd

What an incredibly beautiful film. Be ready for some heavy emotions, as I'm pretty sure there wasn't a dry eye left in the house when the credits ran.

A wonderful drama that has some great performances, an interesting art style, and the best scripting I've seen in a long time.

7 years 6 months ago

FanFu

Beautiful movie! A shame that nobody really knows about it.. We were four people in the cinema.

7 years 4 months ago

ikkegoemikke

"I will tell you three stories. And when I'm done with my stories, will you tell me a fourth. I don't know any stories. You will tell me a fourth and it will be the truth."

I'm not easily impressed and rating a movie with a maximum score is an oddity for me, but the impact of "A monster calls" on me was unprecedented. And not only because of the deeper meaning behind the story of young Conor and his terminally ill mother Lizzie, but also because of the brilliant performances of Lewis MacDougall and Sigourney Weaver (Conor's grandmother), the modest acting of Felicity Jones, the sometimes masterfully used special effects and the three profound stories told by the monster with the impressive deep voice of Liam Neeson. It's not really surprising it turned out to be an emotionally charged story. Only the emotional parts are so pure and humane that even I, who usually looks at such moments soberly and dry-eyed, got a lump in my throat. But especially the denouement gave the story a mysterious turn. Overall, a fantastic film that deserves the maximum score.

When I say I have an unspeakable admiration for the young actor Lewis MacDougall, you can safely say it's a huge understatement. This young boy has such charisma and naturelle. Why this film was not even nominated for an Oscar, is for me a complete mystery. The emotions young Conor is going through, are so diverse and he displays them in such an obvious way. I can only conclude that he's a natural acting talent. The character Conor handles a wide spectrum of emotions. From rage and anger, to some brief happy moments. From fear and despair, to courage and determination. And finally the immense grief after the loss of a loved one, the letting go and the acceptance as central themes. All this is brought by this young actor convincingly. Respect.

The film tends to place itself into the fantasy corner, with this huge yew tree that moves around in a destructive way. It reminded me of one of "The Ents" from "Lord of the Rings". The same appearance. The same voice full of wisdom. The only goal this creature out of Connor's fantasy has, is to make it clear to him that life isn't always rosy or easy, and that he'll be confronted with difficult moments during his life. Conor's life on the other hand isn't so rosy and he faced already some terrible events in his short life. A fatherless upbringing, a terminally ill mother and the terrible bullying at school. Situations that cause him to enter a psychological whirligig with terrible nightmares as a result. Nightmares in which he consistently tries to save his mother, while she threatens to disappear into a huge crater. And always the nightmare ends with him not being able to save his mother. You don't need to be Freud to know the deeper psychological meaning of that dream.

Some will say perhaps "A monster calls" belongs to the category of youth movies. However, I don't share that opinion. Even though the tree monster looks intriguing and not too creepy. And those stories are presented as with water-ink illustrated fairy tales. Nevertheless, the ultimate message is of a more mature nature. The fairy-tale stories have a rather sinister undertone and deal with deception and guile. They are telling the story of the complex human mind. I'm afraid that children will only see the fairy-tale of the tree and won't understand the deeper meaning behind it. I even wondered if there wasn't even a hidden story behind the main story? Wasn't the man next to Lizzie, on that picture hanging in that room in the end, Liam Neeson? And what about the content in that sketchbook that Conor is looking at in the end? And how come the monster turns up at 00: 07 from the beginning on? When all the pieces fell into place in the end, it felt as if it opened a completely different dimension. After that I could only gaze at the screen while feeling numb and confused. What is it that makes a movie to reach perfection? It's not just because of the matchless imagery. And not only because of the wonderful performances. Or that beautiful story. But also because of the effect a movie has on me. "A monster calls" has all these features and especially the last item. So, I call this movie perfection.

More reviews here : http://bit.ly/1KIdQMT

7 years 2 months ago

Emiam

7/10
Touching. More drama than horror-adventure (my expectation).

6 years 6 months ago

acoltismypassport

Pleasantly surprised by the solid accent put on by Weaver.

7 years 1 month ago

olandese

A great movie

7 years 2 months ago

scorpia11

A watered down Pan's Labyrinth.

7 years 4 months ago

ChrisReynolds

There are a couple of animated sequences that are truly beautiful, and its attempts to tug at the heartstrings are overinsistent but sometimes successful, but the film is hampered by bad dialogue, clumsy plot and bad acting (even Weaver's performance is undermined by her struggle with a British accent).

7 years 4 months ago