A Monster Calls

Dark gothic fantasy abounds in filmmaker Juan Antonio Bayona's empathetic exploration of how an adolescent British lad faces the terminal illness of his beloved mother. Bullied at school, 12-year-old Conor O'Malley (Lewis MacDougall) suffers from a recurring nightmare about his ailing Mum (Felicity Jones), whose various cancer treatments don't seem to be working. Her rapid decline may force Conor to move in with his imperious grandmother (Sigourney Weaver) or relocate to America with his re-married dad (Toby Kebbell). One night, at exactly 12:07 a.m., Conor imagines that the enormous yew tree in the nearby church cemetery turns into a huge Monster (voiced by Liam Neeson) who stomps to his house, reaches into his bedroom window, and grabs Conor, saying, “I have come to get you.” The Monster proposes telling him stories on three consecutive nights in exchange for Conor's sharing—on the fourth night—the terrible truth about his own horrifically repetitive nightmare. Scripted by Patrick Ness from his own 2011 YA novel—written as a tribute to his friend Siobhan Dowd, who died of cancer—this shivery, insightful, and truly heartbreaking film is recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include two audio commentaries (one in English with author Patrick Ness; the other in Spanish with director J.A. Bayona), a “making-of” featurette (21 min.), a segment on the “Making of the Tales” (8 min.), and deleted scenes (7 min.). Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a fine extras package for this winning family film.] (S. Granger)