Critique: A Monster Calls (Film) 2/2

*****SPOILERS*****

 

Clever Details

 

There were so many clever details!

The Tree Monster is a yew, a tree that symbolises death. Considering Connor’s mum is dying, picking the yew as the tree was a good choice.

Connor tells the Tree Monster, “I need you to heal.” The Tree Monster responds, “So I shall.” As his tone is so sad, and he’s spending time with Connor makes me wonder if the Tree Monster is meant to heal Connor, not his mum.

Every night, we see 12:06 become 12:07. It’s at this time the Tree Monster appears. It’s also the time Connor’s mum dies.

Connor watches an old version of King Kong with his mother. The gunners try to kill Kong, his mum explains, because people don’t like what’s different. Just like Connor’s bullied for being different, i.e. his head is off in his own world and his mum has cancer. (The spire-Kong scale is inconsistent because Kong is larger at the top of the tower compared to when he falls.)

When Connor reveals his nightmare to the Tree Monster, Connor can’t hold on to his mum who drops in the hole. There’s havoc of wind and debris. When she drops, there’s complete silence. The noise stops, just like Connor’s heart must have done.

Connor reveals his truth, his nightmare: he wants it to be over. He believes he deserves punishment for this. All through the film, he isn’t punished, not for destroying Grandma’s house, not for sending his bully to the hospital. If he doesn’t ‘deserve’ punishment for doing bad things, he definitely doesn’t deserve punishment for wanting his and his mother’s pain to be over.

 

Humour

 

Considering the film is so serious, little moments of gentle levity are well-placed and well-used.

When Connor finds cookies in Grandma’s house, he says, “Get in!” This made me chuckle.

Connor’s dad is a fun character. When he finds out Grandma’s opinion of him, he says, “She’s entitled to her opinion.” After Connor destroys Grandma’s house, his dad says, “I’ve got to say, champ, you’re amazingly thorough.” His dad also says something rather wise: “Most people get messily ever after” (not happily ever after).

 

Tree Monster’s Perspective

 

The Tree Monster’s perspective on things get odder as the film goes on.

The queen is made out to be the bad guy during the first story but then the tree rescues her because she was falsely accused. So the audience knows from the first story that the point the Tree Monster makes won’t be the one the audience thinks it will be.

During the second story, the apothecary refuses to heal the parson’s daughters because the parson ruined the apothecary’s business. The parson was willing to go against his own beliefs in order to save his kids. Yet the Tree Monster makes out like this is a bad thing. But how can principles be more important than people? The Tree Monster says giving up belief is bad from a healing perspective because treatments are a belief in the cure, a belief in the future that awaits. I can understand why this is important, but why punish the pastor when the apothecary willingly let children suffer and die for their father’s actions? It seems like such an odd view. Not wrong, just odd.

During the third story (it happens whilst Connor’s at school), the Tree Monster encourages and joins Connor in the attack against his bully. Even though the bully just said he’d leave Connor alone: Connor’s attack wasn’t in self-defence.

So the Tree Monster’s strange perspective in the second story was part of a pattern of escalation of letting Connor ignore morals to do what he wants.

 

Progression

 

As seen with the Tree Monster’s opinions, everything in this film progresses into a more chaotic and realistic state to reflect Connor’s emotions and situation.

The first story is beautiful watercolour dream. The second story is a dream in 3D animation. The third story happens whilst Connor awakes. There’s a clear progression into realism: 2D fake, 3D fake, 3D real. Just like his mum’s impending death is getting more ‘real’ because the treatments aren’t working.

The Tree Monster emerges from the yew tree. The fist time, he unfolded. The last time the audience sees it, his branches fall off or get ripped off. Whilst it would be easy to claim inconsistency, but as with everything in this film, it’s a progression of things getting worse.

 

Heartbroken

 

The whole premise of the film is gut-wrenching. Yet two particular moments broke my heart.

            As Connor experiences his nightmare whilst awake, he can’t hold on to his mum anymore. She drops into the whole and Connor, conveying both disbelief and pleading, murmurs, “This is where I always wake up.”

When in the hospital at the end, Connor hugs his dying mother. The Tree Monster narrates, “How does the story end? A boy holding on, so that he can let her go.” Using the same action twice to mean their opposites was clever and beautiful.

 

The film was well thought-out, planned meticulously and delivered to a high standard. Emotions were conveyed in the plot, the dialogue, tone of voice and body language. In short, ‘A Monster Calls’ was artfully done.