A Monster Calls is a 2016 dark fantasy drama film directed by J. A. Bayona from a screenplay by Patrick Ness and based on Ness' 2011 novel of the same name. It stars Liam Neeson, Sigourney Weaver, Felicity Jones, Toby Kebbell and Lewis MacDougall. In the film, Conor O'Malley (MacDougall) grapples with his mother's terminal illness (cancer) as he is visited by the Monster (Neeson), a giant anthropomorphic yew tree who tells him stories.
The film rights to Ness' novel were acquired by Focus Features in March 2014, after which, he was hired as screenwriter and Bayona signed on as director. Jones was first hired that April and Neeson joined that May, with the rest of the main cast rounded out by that September. Principal photography began on 30 September 2014, with filming locations mainly including West Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Lancashire in England, with additional scenes filmed on location in Spain.
A Monster Calls premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival on 10 September 2016 and was theatrically released first in Spain on 7 October by Universal Pictures, in the United Kingdom by Entertainment One on 1 January 2017, and in the United States five days later. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for Bayona's direction, acting performances, visual effects, and its thematic content. It underperformed at the box office, grossing $47 million worldwide.
Plot
12-year-old Conor O'Malley has a close bond with his seriously ill mother and maintains the household during her regular chemotherapy treatments at the hospital. His grandmother often visits, and suggests he come live with her in the event of his mother's death. Conor does not warm to her due to her coldness.
At school, he is regularly tormented by his classmate Harry. He is also plagued by a nightmare in which the old church near his house collapses into a hole, where he tries to prevent his mum from plummeting to her death by trying to hold onto her. Conor vents his emotions by drawing, a talent inherited from his mother.
One night at exactly seven minutes past midnight, he sees the large yew tree next to the church transform into a gnarled Monster that approaches his home. The Monster says it will tell Conor three stories during their next meetings, after which Conor must tell the Monster a fourth tale in return.
In the Monster's first story, a prince escapes from his stepgrandmother, the supposedly evil queen. He then kills his sleeping bride under a yew tree and makes the queen the scapegoat so the people drive her away and make him king.
As Conor's mother worsens, he moves in with his grandmother. In the evening, Conor summons the Monster by forcing the hands of the clock to show 12:07. He appears, and tells the second story. In the tale, a hard-hearted parson forbids an apothecary from extracting medicine from an old yew tree, only to rescind this measure when his own children become ill. The apothecary refuses to help him, and the Monster begins to destroy the parson's house as punishment. Conor enthusiastically joins in on the destruction, but he suddenly finds he has angrily destroyed his grandmother's sitting room and valuable grandfather clock instead. His grandmother, while shocked and upset, does not punish Conor.
The doctors turn to a final treatment involving yew wood. Conor implores the Monster to heal his mother, only for the Monster to dismiss the matter as outside of his responsibility. At school, Harry tells Conor he will no longer bother him because he "no longer sees [him]". The Monster tells the third story of an invisible man who did not want to be so. Conor angrily attacks Harry, hospitalizing him. To his surprise, the headmistress refrains from punishing him as she comprehends his current home situation.
When it becomes clear his mother will die, Conor runs to the yew tree, where the Monster forces him to relive his recurring nightmare. This time we see it is his mother dangling for her life over a precipice, holding onto Conor's hand. He slowly loses his grip until his mother disappears into the enormous sinkhole. The monster then confronts Conor and repeatedly demands he tell his fourth tale, as it is the only way for him to be set free. Conor pleads not to, believing that the truth would kill him.
Eventually, Conor admits that he had long suspected his mother would not survive and secretly hoped she would die to end their suffering, although at the same time he did not want her to die. In his recurring nightmare, he subconsciously lets go of his mother's hand, which fills him with guilt. The Monster commends Conor for his bravery in telling the truth and tells him it is human to feel the way he did.