A Monster Calls (2016), PG-13, ★★★1/2

A boy and his monster.

This is tough to see yourself in the position as a young child witnessing your mother/father or any other relative slowly withering as the victim is about to die from a certain disease both physically and psychologically. This movie deals with both angles as it is about a boy is worrying about his mother dying and recounting some memories about his mother. Once I heard the outline about A Monster Calls, I was rolling my eyes in utter disbelief. When I saw the trailer, I was truly mesemerized.  When I saw the movie, I was entranced by the visual scope and themes of the movie but I was sympathetic and sad by its bittersweet story. But, what I like most about this movie besides its amazingly visual storytelling is that it does not retreat from its dire issues and themes and the movie will punch you in the gut.

Conor (Lewis McDougall) is twelve years old as he is witnessing his mother, Lizzie (Felicity Jones), dying from a terminal illness as she has no hair, specifically linked to cancer. She says to him that she will try a new round of chemotherapy and that Conor's grandmother (Sigourney Weaver) will be coming to watch over him so he will not make breakfast every morning. He has been bullied by both a boy at school and also his grandmother in a way that he makes his life worse.

But, one night at 12:07, Conor hears a voice booming from outside, calling out his name. A massive tree yearns out and shape-shifts into a monster. The monster (voiced by Liam Neeson) carries Conor out of his bedroom and into their garden. The monster says that he will tell three stories to him and that Conor will tell a fourth story which will be revealed to be the truth. You may think that Conor must have been dreaming, but no, because he wakes up in his room covered in leaves.

Felicity Jones consoling the boy.

This is a tough movie to watch and endure because it tackles the themes of death, grief but also courage and acceptance. I have to say right off the bat that it was the most visually stunning movies of 2016 but I am hesitant to say that children will enjoy this because this movie is depressing and kids will be turned off by its storytelling but they say that the animation and visuals will be cool. This mostly is a bitter fantasy encircled by reality because eventually Conor has to face his acceptance to let his mother go. This movie is full of heartbreak that is tantamount to Conor's grasp to his mother and also his life because Conor's father comes to London from America but he jumps to conclusions that Conor is going home with his father but his news was disappointing.

Lewis McDougall is a driving force in this movie as he conveys his emotions both in rare joy and but also routine but unselfish disappointment that is transparent for us, the audience, to feel for him. We witness Conor destroy a living room and also pummels a bully. You can theorize that it is therapy for him because of the Monster's story. I thought Liam Neeson was fantastic as the Monster as he is sort of an arborescent therapist for Conor. It is trying to help him to overcome Conor's pain. Felicity Jones give a vulnerable performance as his dying mother. Toby Kebbell has a solid small role as the father. Sigourney Weaver, in a supporting performance, is great but her accent took me out of the movie and it became distracting.

Director J.A. Bayona provides luscious, imaginative spectrums of vivid colors and artistry that it encapsulated me in a bittersweet way because you know what it is coming in the end. The movie illustrates how a young boy can deal with a dying mother's pain with a connection he and the monster and it is fascinating to watch. I thought the bully sub-plot was a bit routine and again, Sigourney Weaver's accent took me out but that's probably it, it is an illuminating masterpiece for sure as it deserves nominations for its visual artistry but its narrative is more than solid even though it is a bit routine at parts. However, this is a dazzling experience that will get your tears to flow with sadness but also some uplifting joy in the end.

***1/2