A Monster Calls (Review)

'A Monster Calls' is an internationally produced fantasy drama film about an unpopular boy who lives with his mother and is under the threat of living with his loathed grandmother, while a giant tree monster begins to interfere with his life, which complicates matters further.

There have been many fantasy films recently which have been just 'okay' and don't inspire any further that a satisfactory cinema visit. I am glad to say that 'A Monster Calls' is not one of those films. 'A Monster Calls' has a genuinely moving story, which features some brilliant career best performances from its cast, including Felicity Jones and rising star Lewis Macdougall, however it is Sigourney Weaver who is the highlight here as the strict, controlling grandmother, this might be weaver's best performance at least for me it's her most memorable performance since 'Alien'.

While 'A Monster Calls' is advertised as a family film, I advise people not to take young children into this film as it deals with strong, dark and rather adult themes which don't pull away from the film's emotional impact, however I do believe that older children will learn wise and moral lessons with this film while being thoroughly entertained and so will most adults. What I enjoyed about this film was that despite the plot revolving around a tree monster and tales of fantasy it still feels like a coming -of-age British indie film.

The film is directed by J.A. Bayona. A director who clearly has an understanding and appreciation for cinema, This film is shot and edited so well that most directors, even the likes of Scorsese and Nolan would be proud if it was in there filmography.
A Monster Calls was a big surprise for me, a film which was much better than I could of ever expected. The only minor problems I have with 'A Monster Calls' is that some lines of the dialog are over-expositional and the visual effects, which are nothing terrible, leave a lot to be desired.


I am going to give 'A Monster Calls' a ...
                                                                             8/10


I highly recommend people to watch 'A Monster Calls' it works as both a coming of age drama and a fantasy film, as well as providing a very honest and candied story with lots of charm.

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