'A Monster Calls' On A Young Boy

Liam Neeson plays the title character in “A Monster Calls" (opening Friday in select San Diego theaters), a children’s film adults can enjoy.

One night a tree monster uproots itself to come crashing into the bedroom of young Conor O’Malley (Lewis MacDougall), who insists he is not afraid of the creature.

So the monster roars at the boy: "I will visit you again on further nights Conor O’Malley and I will shake your walls until you wake and then... I will tell you three stories."

Wait a minute, what?

Conor then incredulously yells back, "You are going to tell me stories?"

Yes. But not just any stories. These are stories that are meant to make Conor think. They are stories that begin as conventional fairy tales but instead of reaching predictable endings they conclude with a twist, a twist that is designed to point out that things are not always what they seem and the world does not always work as we would like it to.

This monster is meant to be a helpful one. He's not scary because what Conor faces every day in the real world is much scarier. His mother is fighting a terminal illness, and bullies at school harass and physically abuse him constantly. So what could a monster do that could possibly be worse torment.

The film is adapted from a book by Patrick Ness (inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd) that was evocatively illustrated by Jim Kay. Director J.A. Bayona had previously given us a horrific tale of childhood with "The Orphanage" but "A Monster Calls" is not meant to be a horror tale in any conventional sense. The monster is not what is meant to be scary but the anger and rage inside Conor is. He is angry that his mother is dying, he is angry that he gets beat up at school on almost a daily basis, he can't understand why his parents divorced and his dad is leaving for the U.S., and he feels a horrible guilt that he cannot explain to anyone.

Bayona delivers the monster's stories in gorgeously animated sequences that capture our imaginations. It is also refreshing to hear tales told to a child that offer complex moral lessons. Good is not always rewarded, bad is not always punished, and just because you wish for something to happen doesn't mean it will come true.

Ultimately "A Monster Calls" (rated PG-13 for thematic content and some scary images) is about coping with grief and loss, and accepting that anger is a part of that process. At the screening I attended there was a symphony of sniffles by the time the film ended. And for once it actually felt earned.