B- | A boy with a terminally ill mother encounters a story-telling tree monster. Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona Starring Lewis MacDougall, Felicity Jones, and Liam Neeson Initial Review by Phil Crone |
A Monster Calls should be commended for taking on a difficult subject with a more whimsical approach than we normally see, but confusing underlying decisions ultimately undermine what could have been one of the great movies of 2016. The story starts with a strong enough foundation. Conor is a young boy with a life no one wants: his mother is sick and presumably dying, he has no other significant support system to look to, and he is constantly bullied by another boy who may or may not actually be in love with him, but I digress. His life is almost comically terrible – why not just give him a physical deformity while we’re at it? Conor finds respite in his drawing, and these fantasies manifest themselves in the form of a tree monster who visits Conor with the promise of telling him three stories, after which Conor will reveal “his truth.” The structure is reminiscent of the 2006 modern classic Pan’s Labyrinth, but the similarities begin and end there.
At the start, A Monster Calls appears to live up to its potential. The Monster, voiced by Liam Neeson in a very good VO performance, is presented as initially a terror but later a welcome respite for Conor. The first tale about the prince and the witch is vivid in both detail and animation, with intricate twists and turns, concluding in a complex but satisfying manner. That initial meeting sets up what could be an affecting and emotional payoff.
Then the odd decisions start to pile up. Conor’s grandma is introduced, a stern woman that Conner clearly does not care for. However, the movie never communicates the fears Conor harbors for her, undercutting the initial apprehension on Conor’s part. The second tale from The Monster ultimately proves to trick Conor into destroying his grandma’s living room, an act he’s never punished for. The lack of punishment is defensible, but The Monster now undermining Conor is out of his character both before and after. Conor’s father showing up, having fun, and leaving serves as nothing more than to toss another turd in the punchbowl that is Conor’s life, something I didn’t need at that point. Conor’s bully comes by once more to declare to Conor that he’ll no longer torment him, yet still opens the exchange by dumping Conor’s orange juice on his notebook. Why? Again, pointless.
The movie does manage to stick the landing, despite its own fumbling through the second act. The relationship between Conor and his mom is the strongest relationship in the movie, and Felicity Jones puts in a fine performance as the mother. Conor’s nightmare and final admission about wanting to let go but breaking down as his mother finally does pass away is a powerful sequence, but the movie doesn’t wholly earn any of the emotion it potentially elicits from the audience. I love the message in the end with the human dichotomy of logically knowing the inevitability and, in Conor’s case, relief of the death of a loved one coupled with the emotional urge to not let them go. I just wish the journey there could have been better.
It’ll take time for me to see if the positives or negatives are what I take from A Monster Calls. The movie feels a little over ambitious, bringing in more characters than needed and becoming a little ham-fisted with the delivery of its message.
Grade: C+
Then the odd decisions start to pile up. Conor’s grandma is introduced, a stern woman that Conner clearly does not care for. However, the movie never communicates the fears Conor harbors for her, undercutting the initial apprehension on Conor’s part. The second tale from The Monster ultimately proves to trick Conor into destroying his grandma’s living room, an act he’s never punished for. The lack of punishment is defensible, but The Monster now undermining Conor is out of his character both before and after. Conor’s father showing up, having fun, and leaving serves as nothing more than to toss another turd in the punchbowl that is Conor’s life, something I didn’t need at that point. Conor’s bully comes by once more to declare to Conor that he’ll no longer torment him, yet still opens the exchange by dumping Conor’s orange juice on his notebook. Why? Again, pointless.
The movie does manage to stick the landing, despite its own fumbling through the second act. The relationship between Conor and his mom is the strongest relationship in the movie, and Felicity Jones puts in a fine performance as the mother. Conor’s nightmare and final admission about wanting to let go but breaking down as his mother finally does pass away is a powerful sequence, but the movie doesn’t wholly earn any of the emotion it potentially elicits from the audience. I love the message in the end with the human dichotomy of logically knowing the inevitability and, in Conor’s case, relief of the death of a loved one coupled with the emotional urge to not let them go. I just wish the journey there could have been better.
It’ll take time for me to see if the positives or negatives are what I take from A Monster Calls. The movie feels a little over ambitious, bringing in more characters than needed and becoming a little ham-fisted with the delivery of its message.
Grade: C+
RSS Feed