Rich in culture, action, and rage, Monkey Man, directed by Dev Patel and produced by Jordan Peele, is a beautiful exploration of revenge with a side of religious education.
Following Kid (Patel) the film is a revenge film set in India, offset against a retelling of the story of Hanuman, a deity in Hinduism, whom Patel embodies – his strength and immortality.
The film evoked every emotion: making me laugh, cry, gasp and recoil.
The storytelling was incredibly immersive, in large part thanks to the camera work. The occasional switch to Patel’s point of view to the action was a clever way to decrease the intensity of the fight scenes and made for an interesting watch. A noteworthy scene exemplifying this camera work is the stairwell scene after the first major fight.
The film cuts back and forth between Kid’s childhood and his quest for revenge in the present. This helps distinguish Monkey Man from other action films, which can often get too engrossed in blood and gore.
The lighting was lovely, using backlighting throughout to create the brooding distress felt by Kid. The motif of red increasing in frequency as he grew with vengeance is a classic touch.
As the star and director of the film, Patel displays the rare ability to make violence and gore feel artistic and tender. There’s poetry to the set pieces that make them aesthetically pleasing in contrast to other films of this genre.
The film’s humour helps to balance out the tone, contrasting against the violence. It’s excellently delivered, especially Alphonso (Pitabhash Tripathi) who really grounded the film in between bloodshed.
Even beyond the engaging plot and gripping action, Monkey Man is worthy of praise for being a great example of positive representation. Seeing South Asians as powerful and complex characters, rather than the one-dimensional stereotypes we’re so often cast as in Western media, was refreshing. Additionally, the film has multiple positive portrayals of transgender characters that really makes it stand out in the film landscape.
As directorial debuts go, they do not get better than that.
