Tree's Company

Prepare for the most heart-wrenching fantasy movie of the year. Matt Glasby is on set as Patrick Ness’s tale

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Stories are wild creatures… when you let them loose, who knows what havoc they might wreak?” So proclaims the eponymous Monster (Liam Neeson), an ancient yew tree called forth by troubled schoolboy Conor O’Malley (Lewis MacDougall) in this dark  fantasy directed by JA Bayona (The Orphanage, The Impossible). He’s not kidding… Based on the YA novel by Patrick Ness (showrunner of Doctor Who spin-off Class), this particular story is wreaking havoc across an entire studio backlot outside Barcelona. Amid the sinewy branches littering the set, the Monster is, quite literally, in pieces. In one corner sits its huge, trunk-like head with red bulbs instead of eyes; in another is a 6ft foot. If Bayona and co do their jobs, it won’t just be the Monster who’s in bits…

In case you hadn’t guessed, A Monster Calls is an absolute heartbreaker. “It’s a story about a kid dealing with the death of his mother [Felicity Jones],” Bayona tells SFX between takes. “When you touch the need to say goodbye, people normally don’t go that far when they go to the movies. Especially in fantasy movies, which are so restricted because they cost a lot of money. Studios don’t want to disturb the audiences, they want them only to have fun, and I thought they could have a lot of fun watching this film but they can also learn what life is about. I don’t want to sound pretentious, but I wanted to make audiences think about it, then send them back home with the film still growing in their minds.”

Based on an outline left behind by writer Siobhan Dowd, who died of cancer in 2007,