Hello again. First of all, I just want to say sorry for not posting in quite a while. I have lots of projects and tests for school, but this afternoon I had some free time so I went to the cinema and watched A Monster Calls. I've been wanting to watch this movie since two weeks ago and am very glad that I made time to watch this movie today.
A Monster Calls is a 2016 fantasy drama film directed by the acclaimed director J.A. Bayona and written by Patrick Ness based on a book which was written by Ness from an original idea by Siobhan Dowd. It stars Lewis MacDougall as Conor O'Malley, Sigourney Weaver as Conor's grandma, Felicity Jones as Conor's mom, Toby Kebbell as Conor's dad, and Liam Neeson as the Monster.
First Impression
Looking at the posters and trailers, I thought this movie would be like Jack and the Beanstalk. It's directed by J.A. Bayona, who also directed The Orphanage and The Impossible, so I know this movie won't be disappointing. The cast is also very promising, especially Sigourney Weaver and Felicity Jones who are outstanding actresses. Liam Neeson as the monster is also very exciting because he has a charismatic voice. Lewis MacDougall is also great as I've seen in Pan (he's the best thing about that movie). So, I think this movie has a good first impression, but I don't think they have enough ads because people around me (in Jakarta) don't seem to notice this movie very much.
Plot & Whatnot
Conor O'Malley (Lewis MacDougall) is a young boy who tries to deal with the terminal illness of his mother (Felicity Jones) and the attacks by local school bully Harry (James Melville). One night, Conor encounters a "monster" (Liam Neeson) in the form of a giant humanoid yew tree who has come to tell him stories and soon begins to help Conor fix his unhappy life. - Wikipedia
This movie has a deep and powerful story to begin with, so it's just a matter of execution - which is amazing. The scenes are very mesmerizing, the cinematography, editing, and everything about this movie kept my eyes glued to the screen the whole movie. I like how the Monster tells stories in watercolor, and how the drawing scenes were shot in closeups and all that. However, I think that not everyone likes the way the story is told because it uses a lot of symbolism, and sometimes it's not very easy for everyone to completely understand what the meaning really is.
The best thing about this movie is the bitter-sweetness, which is very relatable in real life. This movie tells about what life is like through symbolism, like I said before. Life doesn't always have a happy ending, so we have to know when to fight and when to let go.
Conor had a tragic life, and meeting the Monster helped him fight and let go of things that he kept inside, to finally be free of his unhappiness.
I cried like a baby watching this movie. The whole theater still had tears even after the movie ended. This movie is heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. For what is better than a fantasy to be relatable in reality?
Performances
Everyone's performance in this movie is really good, but in my opinion, the best performance goes to Lewis MacDougall as Conor. He captured all the complicated emotions a child like Conor is going through very realistically although dramatic.
Likes and Dislikes
I like almost everything about this movie. It made me laugh, cry, happy, sad, and a mix of every other emotion which makes this movie very relatable because this is what life is like. We can't always have a happy ending, so we have to learn how to let go.
The few downsides to this movie is the promotion and that not everyone can really understand all the symbolic stuff. People tend to assume that this is one of the typical Liam Neeson movies or like I did, assuming this is the Jack and the Beanstalk type or just an ordinary kids movie. And others might not get this movie, but if you did, it will be a great one for you.
In the end...
In conclusion, this is a great movie that didn't have enough promotions and not everyone can really get it, but I recommend to go see this movie and hopefully you'd enjoy it as much as I did. I'm giving A Monster Calls 8 badges out of 10.
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