A Monster Called

January 6, 2017

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A young boy tries to come to terms with his mother’s terminal illness in the fantasy drama, A Monster Called. A thirteen-year-old British boy named Conor, (Lewis MacDougall) is being bullied at school but this is only the beginning of his problems. His Mum (Felicity Jones) has a terminal disease that is slowly making her bed bound. The rest of Conor’s family consists of a dad, (Toby Kebbell) who left when his mum became ill and a grandma (Sigourney Weaver) who is very strict on Conor. The only person or object Conor can talk to is a giant tree (voice by Liam Neeson) who comes to life as a monster every night at seven minutes after midnight. The monster looks and sounds frightening, but Conor slowly learns that the monster is friendly and even gives him good advice concerning life. Now, this film may feature an animated monster, but it’s not for kids. Liam Neeson’s voice as a monster is loud and scary and I even jumped a couple times. The story itself is fantastic hitting on almost every problem a kid could have these days. The young actor Lewis MacDougall is phenomenal and holds the film together by himself. One of the hardest things for an actor to do is to cry convincingly and MacDougall is the best child actor I’ve ever heard. This moving and heart-felt film is based on the book written by Patrick Ness. Even though this film is emotional, the ending isn’t a downer but don’t expect to go skipping out of the theater either. This is one of the best films of the year and I’m giving it an A- rating.

This movie has been given a PG13 rating by the MPAA

Although I am blind, I can appreciate a good movie as well as sighted individuals. I rely more on a good story line than special effects.