Film Review – A Monster Calls

Sadness is an unavoidable response to “A Monster Calls.” Director J.A. Bayona (“The Orphanage,” “The Impossible”) is tasked with brightening up somber material, using heavy swings of fantasy to alleviate a tale that touches on terminal illness, bullying, and absentee parenting. While never jaunty, “A Monster Calls” does reach a compelling level of mystery to keep it on the move, working to wrap its arms around the saga of a teenage boy facing the grim reality of death for the first time in his life, turning to his imagination to help deal with a flurry of feelings. Behaviors ring true and performances are aces here, helping Bayona find the life in all the darkness, hitting proper tearjerker beats without corrupting a fascinating study of adolescent denial.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com