Much like Meghan Markle’s belief in her position as a successful business woman, the drawings in Sketch are also a figment of a child’s imagination. But here for 10 year old Amber (Bianca Belle) she subsumes herself in drawing as a way of dealing with the trauma of her mother’s death and what she draws are primary coloured monsters that act as a sort of release therapy for her anxieties and upset. Those monsters include a blue googly eyed two legged monster Dave, red ‘eye-ders’ – spiders with a body made of an eyeball and Tatler, a monster that acts like a honking car alarm when surprised.
But Amber’s not the only one trying to process her grief. Her older brother Jack (Kue Lawrence) is also coping although somewhat better than his sister in being described as a ‘maternal orphan’ by her. But their father Taylor (Tony Hale) is also battling with his own grief as well as trying to comfort his children that’s in danger of consuming all of them.
What escalates is when Jack finds a pond near their home that has an ability to fix things which he discovers after accidently dropping his mobile phone in there. That ability to repair things continues with a treasured broken plate so it surely can’t be long before Meghan Markle turns up with a copy of her failed business plans. But Jack gets the same idea with his mum’s ashes that is until Amber’s sketch book falls in and her Sketch monsters come to life wreaking havoc in the town and only the kids and their school friend Bowman (Kalon Cox) can bring an end to the cartoon carnage.
This might all sound a bit disturbing for a kids film but The Babadook this is not but still deals with childhood trauma in a far more kid friendly and relatable manner.
There’s something quite magical about Sketch that, like Roald Dahl’s stories, knows that kids love a bit of yuck, a bit of a scare all mixed up with a lot of fun and Sketch encapsulates it brilliantly.
Along with handing the issue of how kids process grief. The monsters are terrifically and realized with the monsters drawn in crayon now susceptible to heat in the real world, or chalk drawn monsters that disappear in a puff. An often insightful script about family relationships that’s as therapeutic and a reminder that childhood pain doesn’t have to overwhelm you. Sketch has a sense of wonderment for both children and parents alike making this one of the best kids films in years.
related feature : Cailey Fleming & Fiona Shaw talk ‘IF’, Ryan Reynolds and dancing with CGI creatures
related feature : Those Quiet Place monsters……
Here’s our chat with director Seth Worley about the making of the film….
Here’s the Sketch trailer….
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