Review- A Monster Calls

A Monster Calls is the new film from director JA Bayona, director of The Impossible (which I haven't seen but my gay sources tell me Tom Holland is hot in it) and is adapted from the book of the same name by Patrick Ness, a book I am now suddenly very interested in. The story is one of a boy, Conor, whose mother has cancer and is going through treatment for it. There are worries that she may not make it and so his dad and grandmother are trying to sort custody of him while he is in this conflicted, terrified state, feeling utterly lost. In this state, he is visited by the titular Monster, a figure who promises to tell him three stories but wants to be told a fourth one from Conor that reveals his silent truth. It is an utterly beautiful narrative and you probably have already worked out that the Monster isn't entirely literal. That bit isn't subtle but it really does create so many crushingly powerful moments.

When I was researching the actors of this film, I felt a little bad for the same reason I've felt bad watching Black Mirror. The boy who plays Conor (Lewis MacDougall) does a superb job and really conveys this difficult and genuinely terrifying part of life that everyone goes through at some point but only when researching it did I realise that the poor boy was in my most hated movie in existence, Pan. Just like Joe Wright before him though, he has redeemed himself and can safely leave Pan in the past. Speaking of leaving bad films in the past, Toby Kebbell has a great, if slightly smaller role in the film as Conor's dad who lives in America and doesn't spend much time with me. Kebbell is an actor I'm a big fan of, with standout roles in Warcraft and the new Planet of the Apes films but he also did Fantastic Four and Ben Hur so I'm glad he's pushing his score back over into good films. Also in the film are Sigourney Weaver as the grandmother in a role that is deliberately meant to have you changing your mind on her constantly and Felicity Jones in what may be a career best role as Conor's dying mother. Finally, Liam Neeson does a great job voicing the Monster and not just because his voice sounds great, he injects some real emotion into the scenes he's in.

Of all the things to talk about that I haven't yet, there is only one real option and that is to talk about how god damn beautiful this film is, in pretty much every single way. Visually, this is one of the prettiest films in years. Due to the main character being someone who spends much of the film drawing and the fact that assorted fairy tale-esque stories are told, there are these moments where all of the action on screen is painted. Sometimes it is merged with the computer generated image of the monster, sometimes the live action of Conor and sometimes, it's just the animation. Regardless of which it is, it is beautiful every single time. Possibly more beautiful than the cinematography though is the sentiment. I don't want to say too much but essentially, it's about family and the feelings we have about those we love. On many occasions, the film got me close to crying, so very close. And then it happened. I wept. I was full on ugly crying. Tears streamed uncontrollably down my face as I sniveled and wept noisily in a public cinema. Never have I cried at a film like that before, which is a relief because it was not a good look and I don't want anyone to have to see me like that.

It feels pointless saying it so ridiculously early in the year but I think A Monster Calls is going to be one of my favourites of the year. It captures the struggle of being a young teenager losing a member of his family so touchingly and if I cry at any other film this year like I cried at this one, I will be amazed. So soon into the year, we have our very first essential movie and while it doesn't perfectly gel with me, it's still absolutely wonderful and deserves a