Okay you “horror-hounds”, just put the brakes on. Despite the “M” word in this film’s title, this is not a “creature-centric” rehash of the 70’s stalker classic WHEN A STRANGER CALLS. This is actually a sensitive look at one young lad’s difficult pre-teen years. And he’s not just dealing with skin problems or vocal changes, but a major family tragedy. Why the title monster? Perhaps he’s an allegory, a towering stand-in for the boy’s, nearly insurmountable future. Or this “beastie” may be his “bestie”, a friend he desperately needs. In Hollywood’s golden age it was thought that children would be repulsed and horrified by Frankenstein’s monster and his ilk, but when their stories became TV staples in the late 1950’s , the lil’ ones embraced them. They weren’t villains, but heroes (or anti-heroes) to youngsters (giving birth to the “monster kid” phenom). Just as with the superheroes, the creatures were part of a power fantasy role model (especially “monster superheroes” like the Hulk and the Heap). That’s certainly the case with the lad at the center of this tale, when his sad life gets much more complicated when A MONSTER CALLS.
The story begins as young Conor (Lewis MacDougall) dashes about the simple two-story house in rural England as he gets ready for school . He’s fixing his own breakfast because his Mum (Felicity Jones) is very ill (and dad’s out of the picture). The army of pill bottles in the kitchen hint at the severity of her sickness. She’s fighting a losing battle against cancer. The teachers at his school try to be sympathetic, but after class Conor is mercilessly bullied by a gang of taller lads. When he finally returns home, Conor must deal with his rigid authoritarian Grandma (Sigourney Weaver) who sweeps in to bring order to the chaotic household. But Mum is still full of fun, particularly when she drags out an old projector to share the original KING KONG to Conor. Later that night, as Conor sits at his desk, sketching away, he’s distracted by a noise. Looking out his window, he sees something emerging from a nearby forest. Erupting from the ground is a huge walking tree-like creature. It peers through the window at the terrified lad. The monster (voiced by Liam Neeson) scoops him up and proclaims that he will return the next night. “I will tell you three stories, then you will tell me a fourth…but it must be the truth!!”, it bellows. Suddenly it is gone and the bedroom is back to normal. Could this be a dream (more like a nightmare)? Conor tries to go about his life, getting a visit from his Dad (Toby Kebbell), who has remarried and started a new family in California, then contemplating sharing a home with Grandma. But the monster-tree does return, reciting dark and twisted “fairy tales”. How can Conor appease the giant with a true tale?
The power of this coming of age story rests on the character of Conor and (then) thirteen year-old Lewis MacDougall ably carries the film on his young shoulders. He easily grabs our sympathy as he is battered at school and faces a difficult future at home , but he’s more than a “poor lil’ laddie”. He’s more than just misery, Conor’s a repressed ball of anger, frustrated over his circumstances. We’re startled when his emotions come to a boil, first when he stands up to the title monster, and later when he unleashes a display of mindless destruction which leaves audiences in shock. It’s a compelling, complex role and Lewis’s performance hits every note perfectly. As his beloved mother, Jones turns in a subtle portrait of a creative, loving spirit that refuses to give in, even as we see that life force slowing draining from her body. Her work in ROGUE ONE, and earlier in THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING and LIKE CRAZY, have established her as one of cinema’s most gifted leading ladies, and this role is a worthy supporting turn. Screen veteran Weaver tackles a most difficult character, a switch from the ‘warm and fuzzy” screen grandparents usually seen in movies. Aside from the schoolyard bullies, she’s the story villain, until we realize that her hard, no-nonsense demeanor is built up to protect herself, distracting her from the devastating loss soon to come. The accent may be hit or miss, but the passion is always there in Weaver’s work. Though most of his recent screen work has been masked by motion-capture CGI, Kebbell excels here as a likable father, who can’t quite ‘step up to the plate” for a son that desperately needs him. And speaking of “mo-cap”, Neeson is spectacular as the best walking tree since we met Groot a couple of years ago.
Director J.A. Bayona, who gave us the wonderful family disaster drama THE IMPOSSIBLE in 2012, delivers another emotional rollercoaster, expertly shifting between fantasy and everyday heartbreak. He handles the screenplay from Patrick Ness with great sensitivity, never going for easy “three hanky” melodramatics. Yes, the “monster” is a marvelous CGI creation with tree limbs shooting from his back like a stegosaurus, and glowing yellow eyes that can instantly go to fiery red, as if its veins were filled with searing lava. But there’s more visual wonders in the stories this creature relates. One is illustrated with moving watercolor-like splashes while another uses figures that seem made of crinkled paper and tuffs of cloth and fur. Each feels like a grand short subject that fits snugly in the narrative. The cinematography from Oscar Faura gives the early scenes a haunted, overcast look, one that gradually brightens as things become bleak. And Fernado Velazquez’s score never overwhelms or pummels the ears. This is a touching, life-affirming tale, superbly told by the film makers and an outstanding cast, proving that one should always answer when A MONSTER CALLS.
4 Out of 5
