A great deal of films were released in 2016 that have received a significant amount of attention. Some were masterpieces, whereas many proved to be a complete disaster. Unfortunately, there were quite a few superb films that are being completely disregarded by audiences and award committees alike. One of the films, that appears to have stayed beneath the radar, is J.A. Bayona's A Monster Calls. Unfortunately, this film is currently proving to be a box office flop. Having a budget of around $43,000,000, this film has only made around $30,265,007 worldwide. Despite this statistic, A Monster Calls is not a terrible movie, but is a wonderful, unsung masterpiece deserving more attention. This film is adapted from a book written by British-American author, Patrick Ness. Originally intended as a children's novel, this story transcends the mind of a child and reaches out to adults. Essentially, A Monster Calls is a mature tale which seeks to focus on growing up and learning to cope with events that cannot be fully explained.
The film, itself, is almost a complete embodiment of the book. Both mediums can be adequately analyzed in the same light in reference to quality and relevance. A Monster Calls follows the story of Conor (Lewis MacDougall) as he learns to cope with the eventual loss of his mother (Felicity Jones). Through a strange turn of events, he finds himself in the company of The Monster (Liam Neeson), who serves as a voice of reason through Conor's transformation. Essentially, this movie is a unique coming-of-age story that utilizes the theme of death. I will admit, this seems to be morbid, but this idea is more realistic and applicable to life than most coming-of-age tales. This particular theme allows the characters to feel real and tangible for they are all dealing with the natural fear of death and loss. This movie does not hold back on the imagery commonly associated with a terminal illness. Because of his father's absence through a divorce, Conor is the one who primarily supports his mother as she struggles with her illness. He endures watching the woman who raised him slowly disintegrate into a frail, tattered image of who she once was. He tries to remain optimistic, but carries a dark truth that remains trapped inside him. Despite Conor's personal belief that The Monster has come to help him save his mother, he has actually come to uncover the truth hidden deep within the confines of Conor's mind. As a compromise, The Monster offers three stories in exchange for Conor's truth. All three stories seem to be completely irrelevant to Conor's trials, but he will soon find each tale has insightful advice to give to him as he learns to deal with the inevitable.
Focusing more on the film itself, the CGI of The Monster is truly impressive. Naturally, his design has been compared to Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy, but critics could not be further from the truth. The Monster is truly unique in his design and seems more weathered and ancient compared to Groot. Also, The Monster is based on the Yew Tree, which possesses many healing properties in terms of medicine. Furthermore, casting Liam Neeson as The Monster's voice was a fantastic decision on the director's part. It seems contradictory to apply such a warm, fatherly voice to a character whom is referred to as a monster. Despite this, The Monster is not a character which intends to incite fear but is more of a placeholder for the absence of a fatherly figure in Conor's life. Not only does he take the place of Conor's father, but The Monster also provides significant wisdom and advice to him as the story progresses. Essentially, casting such an inviting voice is indicative of what it means to be an insightful mentor. Another cast member to praise is Lewis MacDougall. Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised by MacDougall's performance. Considering his first big movie, Pan (2015), was a complete flop, I was not expecting him to perform so well. MacDougall truly embodied Conor as a character, and made his audience feel every emotion he was feeling. Furthermore, as minor characters, Sigourney Weaver and Felicity Jones also displayed a good portrayal of their characters. Weaver's character, Conor's grandmother, even showed realistic character development as a result of her daughter's illness. She starts out as the character to simply despise, but still manages to redeem herself by the end of the film. Weaver effectively makes the audience understand her perspective of attempting to be strong for her daughter, while watching her wither away.
One aspect of the film I wholeheartedly enjoyed, was its use of mixed media to tell the story. All real life moments were filmed in live-action, accompanied by the superb CGI that created The Monster. The three tales told by The Monster, on the other hand, were completely animated. Seeing the animation was a wonderful edition to the film for the scenes were animated in a watercolor style. Of course, these animations proved not only as a style piece, but were also significant to the film's conclusion. In addition to this, the scenes which take place during The Monster's narrations were a direct homage to Patrick Ness's novel. These scenes paid tribute to the novel by replicating the illustrations, and by also making the watercolor images an integral part of the plot.
All in all, A Monster Calls is a truly superb film that is receiving little to no appreciation. This story is incredibly realistic and seeks to provide reason to events which cannot be explained. In retrospect, this story seeks to communicate the idea that not everything has an explanation in this world, and sometimes you have to simply learn to let go and speak the truth which lingers in your heart. Each and every emotion is pulled from the audience while viewing A Monster Calls, further indicating a true interaction with its audience. A Monster Calls is simply a beautiful film with a great deal to say, and I highly recommend it to all who wish to see something purely unique and enlightening.
Score: 10/10
