Preteen girl looking at a cell phone with her parents

Personalized picks at your fingertips

Get the mobile app on iOS and Android

Parents' Guide to

Monster

By Alistair Lawrence, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Bleak Irish period drama has bloody violence, death.

Movie NR 2021 90 minutes
Monster movie poster

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

A slight story kept afloat by its performances, this Irish drama does its best to summon the power of the elements to show us how cruel both nature and people can be. Monster (originally titled Arracht) touches upon a bleak period in Irish history. The film starts with the British implementing a sharp increase to the land rates, leading to harsh times for Donall O Healai's Coleman, an even-handed but strong-willed fisherman. Complicating matters is the ensuing potato famine and Dara Devaney's short-tempered Patsy, whose refusal to be humiliated by colonial forces creates more tension.

After an eventful setup the movie settles into a more subdued mood, with Coleman's isolation limiting the story. His eventual double-act with the tempestuous young Kitty (Saise Ni Chuinn) also feels familiar, causing the plot to lag while we wait for the inevitable to catch up with Coleman, his family, and friends. Despite its pacing and plotting dragging at times, Monster does a good job of capturing both the expanse and the smallness of its characters' world. It might lack the dramatic punch of Hunger, which captures another fraught period in Irish history, but writer-director Tom Sullivan excels at treating his audience and his characters with respect.

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate