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[Demoncarnotaur]

A visually spectacular drama from director J.A. Bayona ("The Orphanage","The Impossible"). 12-year-old Conor (Lewis MacDougall), dealing with his mother's (Felicity Jones) illness, a less-than-sympathetic grandmother (Sigourney Weaver), and bullying classmates, finds a most unlikely ally when a Monster appears at his bedroom window. Ancient, wild, and relentless, the Monster guides Conor on a journey of courage, faith, and truth. Toby Kebbell plays Conor's father, and Liam Neeson stars in performance-capture and voiceover as the nocturnally visiting Monster of the title.

'A Monster Calls' is based upon the Patrick Ness book by the same name, with Ness penning the screenplay. Watch the trailer here.

Reviews:

A sensitive and beautifully made lesson in the limits and power of storytelling.

-John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter

In this grief drama with a touch of fantasy (think Pan’s Labyrinth), director J.A. Bayona proves wholly adept at crafting a tale of genuine emotion that is packed with imagination and sincerity, offering up a strangely cathartic fairy tale of sorts that never lets the fantasy overwhelm the character drama.

-Adam Chitwood, Collider

A deeply moving fable about loss and love.

-Kevin Jagernauth, The Playlist

There's enough nuance to hold intrigue and enough compassion to be a resounding success.

-Jared Mobarak, The Film Stage

A Monster Calls gets off to a rocky start, but once Neeson's talking tree starts spouting tales of wisdom, everything tightens as the tears start flowing.

-Matt Donato, We Got This Covered

A cathartic, brilliantly conceived and executed blend of fantasy and drama.

-Chris Bumbray, JoBlo

Filmmaker J.A. Bayona goes three for three with A Monster Calls, a movie more steeped in fantasy and fairy tale than his previous one.

-Edward Douglas, Den of Geek

The result is strange and memorable, but frustratingly over-polite. There's a gripping, dark, truly monstrous film lurking in here somewhere, but Bayona seems hell-bent on keeping it at bay.

-Tom Huddleston, Time Out

If you’re in the mood for emotional catharsis, A Monster Calls is one of the weepiest experiences I’ve had at the theater this year. Bring tissues, more than you think you’ll need. Bring some extra for your neighbor in case they forget. Then sit back and let the waterworks flow.

-Angie Han, /Film

Deeply emotive and heart-achingly sad, A Monster Calls is a tremendous triumph.

-Allyson Johnson, The Young Folks

J.A. Bayona nailed the manipulative power of filmmaking with his brilliant debut, the elegant and creepy 2007 horror film The Orphanage. He shifted modes, with far less satisfying results, in 2012’s The Impossible, a mawkish portrait of white survivors in the Indonesian tsunami. For his third feature – and the last before he upgrades to the blockbuster arena to tackle the sequel to Jurassic World – Bayona finds a satisfying balance between his first two efforts, juggling the elements of a gothic fairy tale with the more straightforward beats of a sentimental cancer drama.

-Eric Kohn, IndieWire

At a festival where Focus is already well represented by Jeff Nichols‘ intimate interracial drama “Loving” and Tom Ford‘s daring “Nocturnal Animals,” “A Monster Calls” is a touch of magic in the night.

-Steve Pond, The Wrap

'A Monster Calls' is currently screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, and opens in theaters December 23, 2016

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I'm always up for more nuanced fairytale stories, with Pans Labyrinth being one of my favorite films. While this movie is undoubtedly very different, I'm thrilled to hear the good reviews coming from a genre that doesn't have nearly enough films.

 

[Exotoro]

The trailer looked pretty good so glad to hear

 

[strafer]

Looks like Groot on meth.

 

[DontBeThatGuy]

I feel like there's gonna be a lot of very high rated movies this fall/winter.

 

[Demoncarnotaur]

Looks like Groot on meth.

The comparisons to Groot are definitely unavoidable, but from what I understand they tried to stay very true to the illustrations in the book.

 

[erlim]

I thought Felicity Jones was like 23 for some reason.

 

[Baroquemantic]

I wonder if the monster is real or just in his head as a coping mechanism.

 

[Demoncarnotaur]

Few more:

The result is strange and memorable, but frustratingly over-polite. There's a gripping, dark, truly monstrous film lurking in here somewhere, but Bayona seems hell-bent on keeping it at bay.

-Tom Huddleston, Time Out

If you’re in the mood for emotional catharsis, A Monster Calls is one of the weepiest experiences I’ve had at the theater this year. Bring tissues, more than you think you’ll need. Bring some extra for your neighbor in case they forget. Then sit back and let the waterworks flow.

-Angie Han, /Film

Deeply emotive and heart-achingly sad, A Monster Calls is a tremendous triumph.

-Allyson Johnson, The Young Folks

J.A. Bayona nailed the manipulative power of filmmaking with his brilliant debut, the elegant and creepy 2007 horror film The Orphanage. He shifted modes, with far less satisfying results, in 2012’s The Impossible, a mawkish portrait of white survivors in the Indonesian tsunami. For his third feature – and the last before he upgrades to the blockbuster arena to tackle the sequel to Jurassic World – Bayona finds a satisfying balance between his first two efforts, juggling the elements of a gothic fairy tale with the more straightforward beats of a sentimental cancer drama.

-Eric Kohn, IndieWire

At a festival where Focus is already well represented by Jeff Nichols‘ intimate interracial drama “Loving” and Tom Ford‘s daring “Nocturnal Animals,” “A Monster Calls” is a touch of magic in the night.

-Steve Pond, The Wrap

 

[tolkir]

They made an animatronic of the monster.