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A Monster Calls

A Monster Calls

Fantasy · Adventure · Family · 2016

12-year-old Conor encounters an ancient tree monster who proceeds to help him cope with his mother's terminal illness and being bullied in school.

Movie details

A Monster Calls

“Stories are wild creatures.”

2016 Fantasy · Adventure · Family 1h 48m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.3 / 10

Community rating

12-year-old Conor encounters an ancient tree monster who proceeds to help him cope with his mother's terminal illness and being bullied in school.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over A Monster Calls?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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The Twilight Saga: New Moon

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Forks, Washington resident Bella Swan is reeling from the departure of her vampire love, Edward Cullen, and finds comfort in her friendship with Jacob Black, a werewolf. But before she knows it, she's thrust into a centuries-old conflict, and her desire to be with Edward at any cost leads her to take greater and greater risks.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

J. A. Bayona

Written by

Patrick Ness

Lewis MacDougall

Lewis MacDougall

Conor

Sigourney Weaver

Sigourney Weaver

Grandma

Felicity Jones

Felicity Jones

Mum

Toby Kebbell

Toby Kebbell

Dad

Ben Moor

Ben Moor

Mr. Clark

James Melville

James Melville

Harry

O

Oliver Steer

Sully

Court is in session

Put A Monster Calls on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.