After her life falls apart, soft-spoken actress Laura Franco finds her voice again when she meets a terrifying, yet weirdly charming Monster living in her closet. A romantic-comedy-horror film about falling in love with your inner rage.
Chuck says:
I often complain about the large majority of movies being predictable, that 99 times out of 100, I can pretty much tell you what’s going to happen 30 minutes into any film. Director Caroline Lindy must have heard my complaint as her romantic comedy, “Your Monster,” involves a couple of narrative switchbacks that had me experiencing whiplash. Smart and witty, the movie’s theme of female empowerment is explored through a wide variety of perspectives as the film’s initial tone is brushed aside again and again, leading to a conclusion I never could have predicted. And while this sort of narrative will probably prove invigorating to the jaded viewer, I’m still trying to sort out if its disparate parts add up to a cohesive, logical whole.
Things couldn’t be going any better for Laura Franco (Melissa Barrtera). She’s living in New York City with her playwright boyfriend Jacob (Edmund Donovan), they are madly in love, and he promises that she’ll be cast in the lead of his new Broadway production. But when she’s diagnosed with cancer, everything falls apart when Jacob breaks up with her. And though her health is rebounding, her emotional despair has paralyzed her. Sitting in her apartment, overeating and crying at the drop of a hat, Laura is wallowing in self-pity.
That is until her monster (Tommy Dewey) decides enough it enough and steps in. This creature, who once lived in her closet but has since retreated since her teenage years, confronts her about her self-image. Her id come to life, at every turn she bolsters her confidence and negates her faulty logic where why she’s in the situation she’s in is concerned. He has such a great influence on her, that Laura decides to audition for Jacob’s play. Her appearance stuns her ex, who ultimately offers her, out of guilt, to understudy the lead role. Swallowing her pride, she accepts, the rehearsals of the play becoming tension-filled exercises in repression.
Lindy’s script is very funny at times, Monster’s lack of patience with Laura’s doubts yielding big laughs, as do their differing tastes in movies, food and fashion. The chemistry between Barrera and Dewey is razor-sharp, their interactions authentic, suffused with wry irony, while the supporting characters prove equally appealing and relatable. If it weren’t for these two, the film would flounder.
Their presence is also what keeps the viewer engaged as Lindy’s script takes one quick turn after another. The witty repartee gives way to an unlikely romance which segues into a shocking third-act denouement more in keeping with a horror film than a comedy. Whether you accept all that plays out will depend on your willingness to color outside the lines.
At its core, “Monster” is about one woman’s striving towards self-actualization, a journey that begins with reflection and self-healing. Her inner monster is just one of many tools at her disposal in working towards becoming her best self and Lindy’s clever metaphor provides the film with its best and most relatable moments. As for the rest of “Monster,” I can’t say I was ever bored with it, it genuinely surprised me and days after seeing it, I’m still turning it over in my mind, all of the things I ask for when I go to the movies.
3 Stars
