Like Treebeard on steroids, the 'monster’ of A Monster Calls is an awesome, wooden fiend with great depths hidden in his foliage. Voiced by Liam Neeson in this adaption of Patrick Ness’ beloved tale of loss, growing up and big talking trees, it's the centrepiece of an exclusive new poster timed with its bow at the BFI London Film Festival.
Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona, A Monster Calls is a dark fantasy built around the growing pains of Lewis MacDougall’s young schoolboy Connor. Faced with a challenging home life, recurring nightmares and bullying at school, he’s visited in the night by the monster. Three stories await him, announces the creature, over coming nights. At their conclusion, he, in turn, will tell the monster a story.
Rounding off the cast are Felicity Jones as his ill mum Elizabeth, Sigourney Weaver as his prickly aunt and Toby Kebbell as his semi-estranged dad. A stellar cast, then, for a movie of real depth and feeling.
A Monster Calls lands in UK cinemas on 1 January, 2017. If you can’t wait until then you can catch it at the BFI London Film Festival this week or next.