Based on the novel by Patrick Ness from an idea by Siobhan Dowd, A Monster Calls is the story of a young boy who copes with his mother’s terminal illness as he withdraws towards fantasy in the form of a gigantic tree-like monster. Directed by J.A. Bayona and screenplay by Patrick Ness, the film is a look of a boy coping with impending loss and dark realties as he turns to the world of fantasy. Starring Lewis MacDougall, Felicity Jones, Sigourney Weaver, Toby Kebbell, and Liam Neeson as the voice of the monster. A Monster Calls is an exhilarating yet heart-wrenching film from J.A. Bayona.
The film follows a young boy who is dealing with his mother’s illness as he receives a visit from a tree-like monster who would tell him three different stories with the boy having to tell the fourth story. It’s a film that follows a boy who is unwilling to face the fact that his mother would die as he also has to deal with his strict grandmother who wants him to live with her as well as a visit from his estranged father. Patrick Ness’ screenplay showcases the life of a boy in Conor O’Malley (Lewis MacDougall) who is living with his ailing mother Lizzie (Felicity Jones) as he wonders if she will still live despite the seriousness of her illness. Though his life is also troubled at school due to a bully named Harry (James Melville), he often retreats to making drawings and artwork when a monster appears at 12:07 AM as he would appear on that time every few nights to tell three different stories that relate to not just human nature but also loss. For Conor, the idea of losing his mother is enormous as he isn’t sure if he wants to stay with his grandmother (Sigourney Weaver) nor does he want to move to America to stay with his father Liam (Toby Kebbell).
J.A. Bayona’s direction definitely has elements of style in his approach to the visuals as it include some animated sequences as it relates to the three stories the monster tells to Conor. Shot on location in areas near London as well as some scenes shot in Spain with much of the film set in Britain, Bayona would create some wide shots of the scope of the locations including scenes of capturing how big this tree-like monster is. While Bayona would create close-ups and medium shots to play into the intimate moments including scenes of Conor dealing with the people in his life. Bayona would use the script’s back-and-forth narrative as it relates to the three stories as the animation is based on Jim Kay’s animation from Ness’ novel as it would have a richness that is reminiscent to the drawings that Conor would make in his spare time. The animated scenes would match into whatever outlet that Conor is dealing with emotionally as it relates to his inability to face the truth about what will happen to his mother.
Bayona would also create these sequences to match this element of fantasy and reality as it would play into the third act where Conor has to confront this recurring nightmare he would have for much of the film. It’s a sequence in the film’s third act that packs a real emotional punch as it play into the idea of loss. Especially as it show what Conor would have to deal with as well as the array of emotions he is dealing with as well as what he doesn’t want to face. Its aftermath will reveal what Conor has to face but also deal with something bigger as it is about what everyone has to deal with as it relates to death. Overall, Bayona crafts a magical yet visceral film about a boy withdrawing into fantasy to cope with the idea of losing his mother.
Cinematographer Oscar Faura does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography as it play into the grey look of Britain in the daytime as well as some unique lighting and shadows for some of the scenes set at night. Editors Bernat Vilaplana and Jaume Marti do excellent work with the editing as it play into the drama with its usage of rhythmic cuts as well as a few jump-cuts for some of the big moments of fantasy. Production designer Eugenio Caballero, with set decorator Pilar Revuelta plus art directors Jamie Anduiza, Ravi Bansal, Didac Bono, and David Bryan, does amazing work with the look of the home that Conor and Lizzie live in as well as the home of Lizzie’s mother and the school where Conor goes to. Costume designer Steven Noble does fantastic work with the costumes as it is mainly casual with the school uniform that Conor wears to the clothes that Lizzie and her mother wears.
Hair/makeup designer Marese Langan does terrific work with the look of Lizzie in her deteriorating state as she would decline throughout the course of the film. Special effects supervisor Pau Costa and visual effects supervisor Felix Berges do incredible work with effects from the design of the monster as well as the massive sequences in which the monster is destroying things as it play into Conor’s own outlet in coping with reality. Sound designer Oriol Tarrago does superb work with the sound as it play into the way some of the sounds of places on location are presented as well as the way the monster would sound at times. The film’s music by Fernando Velazquez is great as it is this mixture of bombastic orchestral pieces with some somber piano as it help play into the emotional tone of the film as well as some of the adventurous scenes in the film.
The casting by Shaheen Baig is wonderful as it feature a couple of notable small roles from James Melville as the bully Harry that often torments Conor and Geraldine Chaplin as the school’s headmistress. Liam Neeson is excellent as the monster as this tree-like creature who would tell Conor three different stories while demanding him to create a fourth story that relates to all three as Neeson’s performance is a mixture of performance-capture and animation. Toby Kebbell is fantastic as Conor’s father Liam as a man who is an absentee father living in America with a family as he tries to help Conor cope with what will happen though he doesn’t say anything despite offering to have Conor move to America with him.
Sigourney Weaver is brilliant as Lizzie’s mother/Conor’s grandmother as a woman that is quite strict as she knows she hasn’t been fond of her grandson nor her daughter’s lifestyle as she is trying to maintain some order and composure about what is to come. Felicity Jones is amazing as Lizzie as Conor’s mother who is ill with a terminal disease as she tries to maintain some spirit to raise her son’s hopes but also copes with the reality of what she’s facing for herself and her son. Finally, there’s Lewis MacDougall in a phenomenal performance as Conor as a 12-year old boy dealing with his mother’s illness unaware or unwilling to deal with the fact that she might die as it’s a lively yet intense performance where a boy is dealing with reality and the confusion of reality in the world of fantasy as it also has MacDougall reach into very heavy places to capture the idea of loss.
A Monster Calls is a spectacular film from J.A. Bayona that features great performances from Lewis MacDougall, Felicity Jones, Sigourney Weaver, and Liam Neeson. Along with its grand visuals, incredible score, and a compelling story of death and heartache, it’s a film that is willing to go into some very adult themes on loss while being a film that shows the sense of fear and acceptance in coping with death. In the end, A Monster Calls is a tremendous film from J.A. Bayona.
J.A. Bayona Films: The Orphanage - The Impossible - (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom)
© thevoid99 2017
Directed by J.A. Bayona and written by Sergio G. Sanchez, El orfanato (The Orphanage) is the story of a woman who returns to the orphanage where she was raised in the hopes to turn it into for disable children only for the place to become haunted once her adopted son disappears. The film is a ghost story that explores the place where a woman returns to her home as she copes with the dark secrets at the orphanage. Starring Belen Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Princep, Mabel Rivera, Montserrat Carulla, Andres Gertrudix, Edgar Vivar, and Geraldine Chaplin. El orfanato is a riveting and mesmerizing film from J.A. Bayona.
The film is about a woman who returns to the orphanage where she was raised as a child in the hopes to turn it into a home for disabled children where her adopted son communicates with imaginary friends and then suddenly disappear. It’s a film that is really about a woman returning to a place where she grew up as she learns about the dark secrets of the orphanage and its nearby surroundings including a cave and the beach. Notably as a ghost would haunt the place and cause trouble as her son would disappear leading to a long search as this woman named Laura (Belen Rueda) copes with her son’s disappearance as well as the secrets of the orphanage. The film’s screenplay by Sergio G. Sanchez has this unique structure that play into Laura and her search for her son but also in seeing if there are ghosts. The first act is about Laura, her husband Carlos (Fernando Cayo), and their adopted son Simon (Roger Princep) living in the orphanage as well as Simon’s sudden disappearance.
The second act is about Laura and Carlos finding their son as they seek the help of a police psychologist in Pilar (Mabel Rivera) as they explore the orphanage and its surroundings. Especially as Laura copes with the things her son claims to have seen including a mysterious boy in a mask known as Tomas (Oscar Casas) and an old woman she had met early in the film claiming to be a social worker. The social worker is a mystery herself as Laura realizes that some of the things she found out about the orphanages forces her to go ghosts experts including a medium named Aurora (Geraldine Chaplin) who would be the key to finding out some truth into what Laura wants to find. The third act is about Laura trying to communicate with the ghosts as well as try to see if Simon is still alive.
J.A. Bayona’s direction is definitely entrancing for the way he creates suspense in some of the most unexpected moments but also build it up without taking away the dramatic elements. Shot on location in Llanes, Asturias in Spain, the film definitely favors a more rural setting with a location near the beach as well as caves for a scene where Simon goes inside and claims to meet Tomas there. Bayona would create a lot of intimacy in his compositions to help maintain that suspense as well as play with its rhythms for false scares while creating moments that are unexpected. The usage of the close-ups and medium shots help maintain that intimacy along with some wide shots that is key to the sequence of Aurora trying to contact the ghosts. The third act does have a twist in its climax as it reveal things that happened on the day of Simon’s disappearance but it is more about grief and loss over the things Laura encountered at the orphanage as well as it’s history where she tries to make things right. Overall, Bayona creates an eerie yet enchanting film about a woman trying to find her son in the orphanage where she once lived at as a child.
Cinematographer Oscar Faura does excellent work with the film‘s somewhat de-saturated look of tinted blue and green colors to help play into the mood for many of the interiors as well as in the lighting to create that feel of suspense and horror. Editor Elena Ruiz does brilliant work with the editing as its usage of jump-cuts and other rhythmic cuts help play into the suspense and dramatic elements of the film. Production designer Josep Rosell and set decorator/art director Inigo Navarro do fantastic work with the look of the orphanage as well as some of the rooms including the one that Carlos made to find where Simon could be in the area. Costume designer Maria Reyes does nice work with the costumes as it‘s mostly casual with the exception of the look of the women who ran the orphanage in the past as well as the clothes that Laura‘s old childhood friends wore at the orphanage.
Special effects makeup work by David Marti and Montse Ribe do amazing work with the look of Tomas when he‘s not wearing the mask as well in some of the moments of death. Visual effects supervisor Jordi San Agustin does terrific work with some of the minimal visual effects that play into some of the horror that includes the scenes involving ghosts and super 8mm films that Laura would watch. Sound designer Oriol Tarrago does superb work with the sound as the mixing and design help play into the suspense into what Laura is hearing as well as Aurora during the sequence where she tries to communicate with the ghosts. The film’s music by Fernando Velasquez does incredible work with the film’s orchestral-based score as it help play into the drama as well as the suspense where it would appear in moments that are unexpected.
The casting by Geli Albaladejo is marvelous as it include some notable small roles from Edgar Vivar as a professor who studies the supernatural, Andres Gertrudix as the professor’s sound technician, Carol Suarez as the younger version of the mysterious social worker, Mireia Renau as the young Laura, and Oscar Casas in a terrific performance as the mysterious child known as Tomas. Montserrat Carulla is wonderful as the mysterious social worker who knows something about Simon as she has something to do with the orphanage. Mabel Rivera is fantastic as Pilar as a police psychiatrist who helps Laura and Carlos find Simon while wondering if there are really ghosts at the orphanage. Roger Princep is excellent as Simon as young boy who has imaginary friends as he learns some harsh truths about himself and then suddenly disappears.
Geraldine Chaplin is amazing as Aurora as a medium who can communicate to ghosts as she is able to understand what Laura is going through as well as try to help her in finding Simon. Fernando Cayo is brilliant as Carlos as Laura’s husband who is also a doctor as he is eager to find his son but also becomes suspicious of the people who think that ghosts are involved. Finally, there’s Belen Rueda in a phenomenal performance as Laura as a woman who returns to the orphanage that she was raised in the hopes to do some good with it as she is ravaged by her son’s disappearance as Rueda brings an anguish and drive to her performance which is a major highlight of the film.
El orfanato is a spectacular film from J.A. Bayona that features an incredible performance from Belen Rueda. Along with a great supporting cast, an inventive screenplay, and some eerie technical work, it’s a film that is fascinating ghost story that has some chills and moments that stray away from conventional horror tropes. In the end, El orfanato is a sensational film from J.A. Bayona.
J.A. Bayona Films: The Impossible - A Monster Calls - (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom)
© thevoid99 2016
Directed by J.A. Bayona and written by Sergio G. Sanchez, The Impossible is the story about a family’s survival during the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami as it is based on the real life experience of Maria Bolon and her family. The film is an exploration into how a family survives one of the most catastrophic events in human history. Starring Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts, Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin, Oaklee Pendergast, and Geraldine Chaplin. The Impossible is a harrowing yet powerful film from J.A. Bayona.
The film is essentially the story about how a British family survived the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami while vacationing in Thailand where they endure one of the great catastrophic events in history. During this tsunami, the family is splintered in two as Henry Bennett (Ewan McGregor) is with his two youngest boys in Thomas (Samuel Joslin) and Simon (Oaklee Pendergast) as they’re at the hotel where they’re safe as Henry goes on the search for his wife Maria (Naomi Watts) and their eldest son Lucas (Tom Holland). Maria and Lucas are swept up by the water where Maria is badly injured as Lucas has to help her where they get help as Maria is weakened by her wounds. While there’s a lot of uncertainty to whether Maria survives, Lucas tries to fill his time to help others while finding out if his father and brothers are still alive.
Sergio G. Sanchez’s screenplay that is based on Maria Bolon’s story doesn’t require a lot of plot schematics as it’s just a simple story about a family’s survival in this catastrophic event. Yet, it does reveal a lot into what this family goes through as it is also told in the eyes of children. Notably the Lucas character as he’s this teenage boy who is forced to grow up due to what he has been through while helping his wounded mother as she’s got a bad leg and stab wounds on her chest. Lucas also has to deal with the possibility that he might not have a family as he helps other people try to find loved ones while being at the hospital. His character not only goes through the most growth but also becomes the most determined when he sees something that makes him realize that he might not be alone after all.
While Thomas and Simon don’t have as much development as Lucas, they still have a compelling story of their own as Thomas, who is the middle child, is known for being very scared. When he and Simon have to go to a shelter while their father wants to find out where his wife and Lucas are. Henry does reveal to Thomas that it’s OK to be scared as he just needs to watch out for Simon so that these two can keep each other company. There is the prospect that the boys might not have their mother as she’s weak from her wounds as their father knows that as well as it is up to a family to ensure that they’ll be together despite the tragedy they’ve just encountered.
J.A. Bayona’ direction is definitely engaging for the way he presents a world in chaos where this family is at the center of this devastating moment. While Bayona employs a lot of hand-held cameras for some close-up and intimate moments including a home-video camera shot of the family playing around. Bayona definitely creates a lot of shots that are grand in terms of what he wanted to present as it is a mixture of visual effects and real locations. While the film was shot largely in Spain with some shooting in Thailand, Bayona uses the landscape to tell the story where it is a world in ruin where a mother and son are trekking around this land as they find help where they would encounter a survivor in a young boy named Daniel (Johan Sundberg).
The scenes of the actual tsunami happening is just gripping to watch where it has this air of unpredictability and danger that occurs. It almost feels like the audience is in the water and being part of this moment. Bayona wants the audience to realize how this woman survived this horrific wave as she’s underwater and being hit with all sorts of things while she is trying to reach out towards her son. The atmosphere in the direction for the scenes after the tsunami are just as harrowing to watch where there’s all of these people struggling to survive and deal with what just happened. Yes, there’s moments that are just hard to watch and will be melodramatic but it plays true to what these people have been through. Overall, Bayona creates a truly sprawling yet heartfelt film about survival and the human spirit as it also serves as a true inspirational story.
Cinematographer Oscar Faura does excellent work with the film‘s photography from the sunny yet grimy look of the exterior locations to the more low-key lights for scenes at night as well as some of its interior scenes. Editors Elena Ruiz and Bernat Vilaplana do brilliant work with the editing to capture the energy of the action as well as jump-cuts for some rhythmic moments as well as effective cutting for some of the film‘s dramatic moments. Production designer Eugenio Caballero, along with art directors Didac Bono and Marina Pozanco and set decorator Pilar Revuelta, does terrific work with some of the set pieces from the look of the hotels and hospitals as well as scenes in the locations to create the air of despair.
Costume designers Anna Bingeman, Sparka Lee Hall, and Maria Reyes do nice work with the costumes to display the sense of ruin the character go through. Visual effects supervisor Felix Berges does amazing work with the visual effects for some of the scenes involving the arrival of the tsunami as well as some backdrop dressing for some of the film‘s exterior setting. Sound designer Oriol Tarrago does fantastic work with the sound to capture the sense of terror that occurs underwater and in the water as well as the scenes in the hospitals and shelters. The film’s music by Fernando Velazquez is wonderful for the orchestral serenity it plays to the film’s dramatic moments as well as using some low-key piano accompaniments to play out the drama and uncertainty that occurs.
The casting by Shaheen Baig and Raweeporn “Non” Srimonju is incredible for the ensemble that is created as it features some memorable small roles from Johan Sundberg as the young boy Daniel that Lucas and Maria find in the aftermath of the tsunami, La-Orng Thongruang as the old Thai man who finds Lucas, Maria, and Daniel, Ploy Jindachote as the caregiver at the hospital, Sonke Mohring as a man who helps Henry find any survivors, and Geraldine Chaplin as an old woman who sits with Thomas at the shelter talking about stars. Oaklee Pendergast and Samuel Joslin are excellent as the youngest boys in Simon and Thomas, respectively as Pendergast plays the youngest as a boy just scared about what happens while Joslin is the middle child who is aware of what he has to do in order to not be afraid.
Tom Holland is outstanding as the eldest son Lucas as he deals with the events that he just went through as well as realities that he’s facing. It’s a truly engaging performance for the way Holland lets the audience see what he’s going through while desperate to hold on to what he has left. Ewan McGregor is fantastic as Henry as a father dealing with the possibility that he might have lost a wife and a son as he is desperate to find them while admitting to his youngest sons that he is scared. Naomi Watts is phenomenal as Maria as a woman who goes through hell as she is beaten and bruised by the waves as she tries to stay alive for her son as well as cling to the idea that the rest of her family could still be alive.
The Impossible is an intense yet mesmerizing film from J.A. Bayona that features magnificent performances from Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, and Tom Holland. While it is not an easy film to watch in terms of the visceral events that occur in the film, it is still a story that is just unforgettable. Notably in the way it reveals the triumph of the human spirit and how a family was willing to come together in this horrific event. In the end, The Impossible is a tremendous film from J.A. Bayona.
J.A. Bayona Films: The Orphanage - A Monster Calls - (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom)
© thevoid99 2013
