A Monster Calls

With the many films currently available at the cinema there have been a few selected to be the first features of the blog for different reasons.

A Monster Calls was selected because of Liam Neeson. A man who has done many different roles in his career but has in recent years become associated with a violent shooting up type of film. In this film he is the voice of the monster and because this is a film aimed at older children it was different enough to warrant a trip to the cinema.

So time to get on with it. This is a slightly upsetting story. It's not a happily ever after type of story, it's a real type of story. A young boy is bullied and beaten up every day at school. His mum is dying of cancer, his dad is in Los Angeles and he doesn't get on with his grandmother. Life sucks. Every night he wakes up at 12:07 from a nightmare in which his mum is at the cemetery, it all falls down and his mum falls to her death. So he draws and he is a fantastic artist. Like clockwork he is awake at 12:07 when the lovely tree that he draws, the Yew tree, turns into a monster. Only he can see it but the monster helps him a lot.

A common theme in this film is the idea of crime and punishment. When Connor (Lewis MacDougall)finally lets out his anger in his grandmother's (Sigourney Weaver) house and smashes up an entire room he is not punished because what would be the point? When he finally attacks his bullies and sends one of them to hospital he is not punished- what would be the point? He is a young man struggling with the death of his mother (Felicity Jones), the only relative present in his life that he loves, and the monster encourages him to act out.

The lesson you can learn from this film is that you can't pretend that you are fine all the time. You need to talk, you need to let people in, let your emotions out and let go of the things that you can't change. We've all been through difficult times in our life, some at an earlier age than others but this film helps and talks to you in a way that I can't put into words. You wont come out of it feeling really happy but you wont feel depressed- you just need to remember the message, remember the film because the only time you will need to see it again is when Connor's reality becomes yours.

The animation, the design, the screenplay in this film is fantastic. Forget 3D and Imax filming when with a bit of imagination and talent you can make something as beautiful as what you see when the monster tells the story. A slight Kung Fu Panda feel in terms of artwork but always something to be admired.

Next week will be Rogue One!