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| Scene from A Monster Calls |
There is a moment that comes in the third act of director J.A. Boyana's A Monster Calls that is more gut wrenching than any traditional drama (even Manchester By the Sea) achieved in 2016. It's a moment in which Conor (Lewis MacDougal) is forced to come to terms with his mother's (Felicty Jones) long and unsuccessful battle with cancer. The imagery is chaotic, yet its prose immediately thrusts the viewer into the insular understanding that goes with the concept of loss. It is a moment that overwhelms the senses, eventually creating a break that should get the waterworks flowing. More than any other film in 2016, it understands the power of visual story telling as an art form, mixing familiar themes of anxiety with the supernatural. However, this isn't a monster movie about going on adventures - at least not in the familiar way. It's about the uncertainty that comes with grieving, and the struggle to find truth through its frustrations. It may take a very familiar route regarding the cancer story, but its journey there is one of the most breathtaking abstractions melancholic family cinema has ever seen.
