Quick Thoughts on “Monkey Man” (2024)
Written by Victor DeBonis
“Monkey Man” is a marvelous directorial debut from Dev Patel who has presented much talent in film for years and does great in establishing himself as much of a superb storyteller behind the camera as he is in front of it. The bleak underworld the main character (also played by him) inhabits is filmed underneath benches of seedy fighting rings and through the dirty glass windows of offices nobody took time to properly clean in this gritty place. There is just enough light to capture the cramped kitchens and fancier areas of this environment and tell this story, and Patel doesn’t shy away from exposing the blood and rivers of sweat of the character’s struggle and his setting.
The story excels in encouraging the audience to connect with the main hero’s motivation of wanting to avenge his mother’s death at the hands of crooked people involved in the government who shouldn’t be. A gentle voice-over traces from his mother as she teaches him about the importance of his face and fills his time with folk tales and love. In many respects, his mother guides him with a philosophy helpful for finding his way through a world without much light or visible hopefulness in it. It is easy to forget the philosophy and beliefs nourished within us by the ones we love the most, and, in between the heavy amounts of grittiness and brutality, the story understands this idea and further cements the subtle power of love through the pleasant expeditions through the woods and other tranquil moments from the hero’s past youth before the uglier shadows that surrounded it took over for good. There is a genuine bond between the hero and his deceased mother, and it reveals a thorough heart pointing our hero in the direction he needs to go with the power of its inspiration.
All of the character actors nail the type of persona and what their purpose is within this story. There’s one overly privileged woman with the ruthless hold over much of this crime world and who spits vile insults and belittles anyone she feels is remotely below her. Another is a boy who races across the streets in between the right people to bring information of who is plotting a deal or who knows someone else with greater power and carefully whispers what he knows at a spot he can’t get hurt in. And yet, another ally of Patel’s is someone who swaps dirty humor as though he’s been doing it for most of his life and knows the right way to help the hero at hand make his way further towards eradicating those who are responsible for his mother’s horrible death and the horrid state of his home.
The direction and script swiftly and skillfully explores who is the right person to get information about who and what life consists of when one is sleeping on the streets or is trying to make ends meet and who is treated well enough and who is treated lower than dirt and why. This world feels carefully realized and rings with life and personality. It is easy to see why Patel simultaneously loves what he feels as “home” and hates it for seeing what it has devolved more into at the hands of the worst possible people. Acting-wise, Patel himself devotes himself to throwing punches and being beat and kicked around in this tale, and he believably expresses the weariness and just barely contained rage of his experiences and what he is shaping into with the rigid posture of his observations and the nasty force he fuels into his kicks and fists in his combat scenes.
Fight and chase scenes are thrilling to watch with the camera sometimes quickly panning left and right and getting close enough to display the brutality of the combat. Sometimes, the shaky cam rears its ugly head and presents an image that’s too wobbly to appreciate. For the rest of the time, however, the action scenes move and are edited with a ferocious energy and present a terrific combination of hand-to-hand moments and some truly nasty moves that caused my crowd to exclaim in awe at the nasty fury of this movie.
“Monkey Man” is a great story for underdogs and those trying to fight their way against what they’re restrained in. It’s a great action movie filled with personality, dark humor, and well-handled violence. And, it’s a movie that makes me want more from filmmaker Patel.
Grade: A-