The monster does not come walking often. This time it comes to Connor, and it asks for the one thing Connor cannot bring himself to do. Tell the truth. This is a very touching story about a boy who feels very damaged, guilty and mostly angry. He struggles at school with bullies, and pity looks from everyone, and at home with his mother’s sickness. Will Connor overcome his problems? Will everything be okay? Will Connor be able to speak the truth? (from IMDb)
I read the book that this is adapted from back in 2011 and I loved the book. When I first heard it was going to be adapted into a film I was excited, but also apprehensive, what if the film was terrible?
Thankfully it isn’t. It is fantastic and just as great as the book. But be warned, it is a tear-jerker. It has to be, it deals with grief, death, terminal illness, bullying, and a child having to deal with all of that.
It is a terribly sad film.
And I can completely understand anyone who doesn’t want to have those topics brought up when they go for some entertainment.
However, it is a wonderful film. And it deals with these issues in a serious way. It uses the fantasy elements perfectly, to help deal with things that are too hard to think about. It is all about emotion and truth. And it is heartbreaking.
At first I wasn’t too sure about the portrayal of Connor, the boy at the heart of the story, but by the middle of the film I had come to think of him as utterly right and real. He is angry and isolated and difficult. He is troubled and causes trouble. As anyone going through what he is going through has a right to be. And yet the people around him don’t want to address any of that. They can’t deal with what he is going through, so use that as an excuse not to deal with him at all. Which isolates him all the more.
It is a great film and I hope it gets an audience, although I can see it being a hard one to sell to people to be honest.
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