A Monster Calls 2016
Along with just about everyone else in the world, I didn’t see A Monster Calls when it hit theaters at the end of 2016. A brief synopsis would be enough to turn people off: a bullied child whose mother is dying is visited by a monster (voiced by Liam Neeson) who insists on telling him stories. It’s too heavy for most kids and even for most adults. Still, the reviews were good enough that I felt like it was worth at least a rental.
It is good to know about the dying mother beforehand. That lets you accept and move on to the story of the boy trying to sort things out. Even that doesn’t lighten things up by much. Oh yeah, his parents are divorced and his father now lives overseas. At one point the father says “You don’t want to leave all of this” to his son and you are wondering, leave what?
Despite all of this there are some great moments with the monster and the stories. With the sentimentality already up at 10, they don’t need to pull on the heartstrings any further. The kid is an artist and the stories have some really nice animation. And the tree monster is pretty cool, even if you are a little tired of Liam Neeson like I am. Performances all around are very good. Yes, it is dark and emotionally manipulative, but it is also a good movie, with magic countering some of the real world sadness. The story also moves along quite well and while I usually pause a slow movie often for a break, I didn’t want to stop watching this one.
Written: 15 Oct 2018
Owned on: Digital