Film Review: Monkey Man
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In a story as fantastical as the one in the film, Monkey Man is set to arrive in theaters this week after being rescued from just being placed on Netflix when Jordan Peele got a chance to screen it. Thank goodness, as this a film that deserves to be watched and critiqued on the big screen. Dev Patel’s confident, if a bit muddled, debut provides enough thrills to overcome some of its stumbles.
Dev Patel plays the aforementioned Monkey Man, a man who makes a living fighting as a man in a monkey mask. Well fighting might be too nice of a term, as he can seem to do nothing but get his ass beat. However, that pain is fueling his fire for a different arena, that of revenge. As a child his village was attacked by police under the behest of a corrupt ring of politicians and spiritual leaders. Now, he’s putting a plan in motion to take down the people behind his hurt. Along the way, he meets several people who shape his view of the world, moving this quest for vengeance into a more righteous pursuit.
As the star of the film, Dev Patel (the actor) gives beautifully resonant performance. His physicality is top tier, not just in the fight scenes, but in how he holds his body or moves about spaces. he’s not content with just being a bruiser driven by rage, but letting the many lives the man has lived feel present alongside him.
The other acting standout is Vipin Sharma who plays a trans character and leader of a commune of outcasts and serves as a mentor/guiding force for Kid. It’s a lovely performance and the inclusion of this character and commune is a fascinating decision. It was quite amazing to have trans characters in the focus of a film like Monkey Man, though I am certain there’s a worthwhile dialogue about having cis characters play trans characters. Inclusion character wise is commendable, but there’s still work to be done in the casting.
As the director of the film, Dev Patel acquits himself nicely to the role, finding ways to guide the story, highlight the action, and find the pathos of the characters. With Sharone Meir as the cinematographer, the duo combines to do some interesting work with the camera during the action moments. There are several sequences where the camera floats from being objective, viewing the carnage and calamity, to being subjective, taking the POV of Dev’s character. It’s a smart play, allowing not only for some visual panache but in likely allowing for the stunt performers to take his place/give him a brief intermission in the scene.
However, for as much visual flourish as the movie has, the pace of the film slows down tremendously in the second half. That may seem quite strange given that the action ramps up to a fever pitch, but the script and editing struggle to hold all of the many ideas and needs of its story. In a way, this seems like a film that should be 15 minutes longer or 15 shorter than it is. Monkey Man has time for long training montages (but not on the movie most begs for) and multiple flashback moments, but still doesn’t feel like it digs all the way down like it needs to, particularly as it comes to the politics of the country and the relevance of the characters. These are essentially stock bad guys, each with a different costume, that stand in for a particular type of villainy without being more that interesting on the surface. There are times where this movie ticks all the boxes for a theatrical presentation and times where I see why it might have been on Netflix.
I came away feeling like this movie is the equivalent of a chicken drumstick. It’s tasty with interesting flavor, but ultimately won’t be enough to fulfill you. Despite that, there was enough promise shown to make me excited for whatever project Dev wants to take on next and enough to make me recommend Monkey Man.
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