Liam Neeson's Big Tree Revealed In Stunning New Trailer For A Monster Calls
"Woah indeed."
The new trailer for A Monster Calls encourages its protagonist to break things. Based on the new look at J.A. Bayona's film, that's probably going to mean our hearts.
Based on the great fantasy novel by Patrick Ness (who adapted it from an idea by the late Siobhan Dowd), the story focuses on Connor, played by Lewis MacDougall, a young boy struggling to deal with what life is throwing at him. His mother (Felicity Jones) has terminal cancer, his father (Toby Kebbell) left the family a while ago, he's forced to spend more time with a grandmother he hates (Sigourney Weaver), and he's being bullied at school.
To escape the real-life nightmares, he takes refuge in a fantasy world when the yew tree in the cemetery next to his house transforms into a giant tree-man with the voice of Liam Neeson (in a mo-cap role), who helps him deal with his anger, sadness, and confusion - although not always for the best.
The new trailer gives us a good look at Neeson's monster, and the visuals are certainly stunning, but it's also clear from the performances of everyone involved that this has a lot of heart, and is definitely going to be an emotional journey.
A Monster Calls is released October 21 in the US, but the UK has to wait until January 6 next year.