Film of the book: ‘A Monster Calls’ (2016)

This is the most perfect book-to-screen adaptation I’ve seen. The screenwriter was the book’s author, Patrick Ness, which would explain why the film sticks so closely to the book. The only significant change is the omission of Lily, a friend of the protagonist. However, she was certainly intended to be in the film, as she appears in a deleted scene.

You can read my book review here. The film is essential viewing, whether you’ve read the book or not. It’s heartbreaking but beautifully done. The actors are wonderful, especially young Lewis MacDougall as Conor, Felicity Jones as his mother and Sigourney Weaver as his grandmother. Liam Neeson voices the monstrous yew tree. Fantastic special effects, too. The animation sequences are stunning and bear a stylistic similarity to those in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

I don’t want to say much about the film. I can’t find the words. I guarantee you’ll be in tears by the end, if not before.

Low-resolution film poster sourced from Wikipedia.


Discover more from N S Ford

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Comments

17 responses to “Film of the book: ‘A Monster Calls’ (2016)”

    1. nsford avatar
      nsford

      Thank you! ๐Ÿ™‚ โ™ฅ

  1. Callum McLaughlin avatar

    This really is an excellent adaptation, and testament to the importance of having the bookโ€™s author heavily involved in production.

    1. nsford avatar
      nsford

      Agreed! I wish more authors would be involved that way.

  2. (Kitty) Cat Strawberry - Meow! avatar

    Wow, sounds brilliant. I haven’t read the book yet and didn’t know if it was any good but you’ve made me want to both read the book and see the film ๐Ÿ˜. I think having the author be the screen writer definitely helps in any adaptation and I wish more authors did this. Great review๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ˜Š

    1. nsford avatar
      nsford

      I know, more authors should be closely involved in screen adaptations. Yes, the book is a must-read and the film is a must-watch! Really sad… but very well done. ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. Stephen Writes avatar

    I really liked the book but still haven’t seen the film. Your review makes me want to watch it very soon.

    1. nsford avatar
      nsford

      It’s such a good film! Although I had liked the book very much, I hadn’t been intending to watch the film, but then I found the DVD in a charity shop and there was no excuse really.

  4. Jee Wan avatar

    OMG you make me wanna watch this now! ๐Ÿ™‚ I loved the book! But it’s impossible for me to watch movies these days…:( But I’ll definitely wanna watch this one day!

    1. nsford avatar
      nsford

      If you loved the book… you will adore the film ๐Ÿ˜‰

  5. Lashaan Balasingam @ Bookidote avatar

    Saw you mention the book and movie on your IG in the past months and you’re absolutely right. Amazing adaptation of an amazing book! ๐Ÿ˜ฎ ๐Ÿ˜ฎ

    1. nsford avatar
      nsford

      I was really impressed by how close the film was to the book and the tree sequences were amazing!

  6. R A I N avatar

    AHHHHHH!! I haven read the book or seen the movie but your review makes me want toooo!! Ahhhh!! ๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ˜ญ BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN HON! โค๏ธ๐Ÿ’•๐Ÿ’•๐Ÿ’Ž

    1. nsford avatar
      nsford

      Thank you! Oh yes, you need to read this one! Be warned it’s extremely heartbreaking.

      1. R A I N avatar

        AHHH!! A PROMISE OF A NEVER ENDING STREAM OF TEARS, AN ACHING HEART, POTENTIAL DEPRESSION? YEP! DEFINITELY BRING IT ON! ๐Ÿ˜‰๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿคฃ

  7. theorangutanlibrarian avatar

    So great to hear the film was well done and that it’s essential viewing, because I loved the book!

    1. nsford avatar
      nsford

      It was so good, yet terribly sad.

Leave a Reply