the player Dev Patel (“The Enigma Boy from Mumbai”, “The Green Knight”) also sits for the first time in the director’s chair in his film “The Monkey Man” (Monkey Man), which had a long journey until it arrived in cinemas.
The film, which Patel also helped write, was first sold to Netflix and suffered endless production problems – shooting was delayed, locations were changed, Patel broke his hand in a fight scene and Netflix was not planning to provide the distribution the star had hoped for.
Then came the director and producer Jordan Peele (“Us”, “There’s no way”) who watched the finished film and was enthusiastic. Phil decided that the film could not skip the cinema screens and be buried on a streaming platform, so he purchased the film from Netflix himself, and decided to release it in wide distribution.
“The Monkey Man”, in addition to being an action film full of beatings, fights and violence, is also a particularly personal work that tries to say something alongside the large amount of blood spilled in it. Patel did not just approach the craft of directing as a generic action, but researched and was heavily influenced by both American and Korean cinema to create an interesting and unique combination that completely marks who he is as a director, already in his first film.
The Monkey Man – the plot
The film is influenced by the legend of Hanuman – the monkey god in Hinduism whose story is detailed in the opening and repeated several times during the viewing. Patel plays an unnamed guy, known as “The Kid” and tells people his name is Bobby, after the cleaning agent he uses in his work.
“The Kid” spends his nights as a boxer in pre-addicted fights, in which he lets his opponents beat him until he bleeds for money for the performance. When he spots an opportunity to infiltrate a prestigious club for the capitalists and elites, he decides to use his proximity to them to avenge his mother’s death at their hands and start a liberation movement that will restore power to the common man.
A successful combination of action and drama
Early in the film we make a reference to “John Wick”, a reference that supposedly comes to indicate to us what kind of film we are about to watch, but in practice it is a combination between adjusting expectations and changing them completely. Yes, it is fast and rhythmic action with fight scenes that are very similar to Keanu Reeves’ film series. But at the same time these are completely different worlds.
The action-packed film also contains many quiet, melancholic moments full of self-reflection. The hero of “The Monkey Man” is indeed motivated by revenge, but this is really not the story that drives the plot. “The Kid” is not John Wick, and is called that for a reason. He is in the end a child that we feel sorry for and learn to love. He wasn’t supposed to be a part of this action-packed world, but the circumstances of life led him there, and his love and sense of justice make us want to be there with him until the end.
The idea behind the film is that there is nothing special about the child. He could have been anyone who suffered from the oppressive regime and survived to fight back. The film builds him not as a private person trying to take revenge but as a general symbol of protest, and his journey does not proceed in a direct line and gives the film intriguing turns that definitely break the familiar routine of the genre.
From “The Monkey Man” (courtesy of Tulip Entertainment)
We are part of the war
The directing of the battles in the film is done with a mind craft, when the camera feels like a character itself. Similar to “John Wick”, here too there is a creative choreography not only for the fighters but also for the movement of the photographer, who sometimes seems to participate in the beatings as much as the others. He bends, hides, rushes forward and defends, which gives us the feeling that we are right there, with the potential to abduct in the face at any moment.
More than the action, the uniqueness that Patel brings to the craft of directing is in the combination of the different styles of the film. Since the child’s journey is frenetic and unpredictable, we are never prepared for what each scene will bring. The battles appear as a surprise and can just start suddenly, quite realistically. On the other hand, scenes that are built for battle will suddenly take a completely different turn and will not give us the catharsis of a typical battle.
The world built in the film deals a lot with the simple, poor and poor people who are exploited by the upper class, politicians and corrupt policemen. Even during the action, it’s amazing to see how much Patel doesn’t forget about the people in the background.
Most of the beating scenes remind us of the innocent people who get kidnapped and die simply by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But as we are aware of them, so is the child – who tries as much as he can to save them, while fighting for his own life.
From “The Monkey Man” (courtesy of Tulip Entertainment)
It’s not easy to be a director
On the other hand, this narrative frenzy does not manage to last throughout the film, and towards the end it no longer tries very hard to change our expectations and slightly degenerates into the clichés of the genre.
At 120 minutes long, the film could definitely have been tightened up and reached its point more smoothly. And more importantly, to better build the characters of the villains, who sometimes feel too much like bosses in an ascending order from a computer game.
Jordan Peele’s involvement in the film is not surprising, and along with all of Patel’s influences, it seems that the Oscar-winning horror director is also on his mind. Phil emerged into the world of directing after being a well-known comedian for years, and quickly exploded with a unique and striking style.
Patel no doubt wishes for a similar success story, and sometimes tries too hard to show his hand. That is to say, the film feels very staged. When the director’s work is so prominent, it can take us out of the story and make us spend most of the time thinking about making the film and less about getting deeply absorbed in its story.
From “The Monkey Man” (courtesy of Tulip Entertainment)
The bottom line – what we thought of “The Monkey Man”
The “Monkey Man” has something for everyone. Action fans will be rewarded with a considerable portion of blood, drama fans will enjoy a touching and sympathetic story and cinema fans will recognize the many artistic influences that the film pays tribute to. There are even some fairly successful comedic moments.
Patel can certainly relax and know that his first film was a success. It probably won’t become a huge hit, as the issues of politics and class in India aren’t necessarily what will appeal to the general public. But more important than creating a hit is creating a striking and unique film, which will surely give it another opportunity behind the screen and not just in front of it.
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