A Monster Calls (2016)

Author Patrick Ness adapted his own Carnegie Medal winning children's fantasy book for this film version by Spanish director J. A. Bayona. Set in the U.K. it is the story of a quiet 12 old boy named Conner (newcomer Lewis MacDougall) whose mother (Felicity Jones, finally a movie where I can really like her performance) is dying of cancer. Bullied at school, resentful of his rather formal grandmother who is trying to help (Sigourney Weaver, attempting a vaguely British accent), and disappointed with his well meaning but largely absentee father (Toby Kebbell) who visits from America, Conner is a boy with little outlet for great pain. That is until he is visited by a tree like monster (voiced by Liam Neeson) who is intent on telling him three stories which may help him better understand and cope with his situation. The stories are parables with counterintuitive messages that are nicely rendered in water color-esque CGI. The film itself is a parable to teach children how to better process the unfairness of a loved ones death, but is also resonate to older viewers. This is a smart movie, it did make me think, and there are some nice subtleties hear that many younger viewers may not fully pick up on. I was pretty impressed. ***1/2