Monkey Man (2024)

A couple of years ago, I was surfing through Letterboxd when I came across the name Monkey Man. I was instantly intrigued as it mentioned Dev Patel as the director. I’ve been an admirer of his work since Slumdog Millionaire, so I immediately clicked on it, hoping to learn more about it. However, the only information I could gather was that Dev was going to write, direct, produce, and even star in it.

Earlier last year, Monkey Man resurfaced on my radar when a friend shared its trailer. He seemed extremely stoked by what he saw, and so was I as I clicked on the link. From the very first frame, I knew it was no feel-good film, and by the time it ended, I was like, “Woah, he really did write John Wick for himself.” But I guess that’s too reductive of a statement because there was a lot more going on in that trailer. Dev knew that nobody would expect a brown, lanky dude to play the lead in an out-and-out John Wick-style commercial action flick, so he just wrote that role for himself. And I am so glad he did because I finally managed to watch the movie, and I really enjoyed it - well, mostly.

Monkey Man follows a familiar template: something terrible happened to the protagonist in the past, so he’s back with a vengeance to bring a semblance of justice. There is absolute clarity in who is good or bad in this film, with no room for grey. Dev drops you in the middle of his quest to exact revenge on Sikander Kher’s diabolical Rana, while we learn about the past through flashbacks that haunt Dev’s character. The film is a triptych of those three primary plot-lines: Dev’s and Rana’s in the present, and the terrible visions from the past. This is pretty standard stuff, but what Dev does with this is inject Hindu mythology into the heart of the film, decorating it with striking Indian iconography.

Dev sets the film in a fictional Indian city called Yatana, which, according to Google, translates to "Torture," or more specifically, torture by Yama, the ruler of hell. This symbolism is justified by the fact that Yatana is shown as a place with massive social inequality, where the rich pretty much control and subjugate the poor. It reflects a more dystopian, almost Gotham-like vision of Dharavi, Mumbai. Harking back to Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, Yatana, too, has a network of people and systems that operate in the subterranean, assisting Dev in his mission. The slum, an anti-city within the city, is brought to life by those very people and systems. In stark contrast, we see the rest of the city: an array of posh, high-rise buildings, among which is Rana’s colossal kingdom of sin - a hotel where the elites of the country and abroad come for women and drugs. Similar to The Raid, where the tactical squad had to ascend through levels, Rana’s hotel, too, has a system of hierarchy. Dev soon manages to infiltrate the lowest level of the building, posing as a menial worker, thus setting the ball rolling.

Now, let’s talk about the craft.

Well, it’s hard not to reference John Wick when you see this film because it’s the freshest example of what Dev has aimed for in Monkey Man, but the root of it can be traced back to the wonderful world of Asian action cinema. Dev himself has mentioned films like The Raid, The Man from Nowhere, Oldboy as inspirations, along with Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee films, and that clearly shows in his work. Monkey Man is almost a pastiche of the works of his mentors and the films that have inspired him. You can see shades of Danny Boyle’s dynamism and Neil Blomkamp’s ability to make a $50 million film look like a $100 million one. Dev even takes inspiration from something like Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther.

But even though Dev doesn’t do anything inventively new with Monkey Man, his directorial flair shines throughout the film. A vast majority of it is intense and utterly chaotic, with frantic energy oozing from each shot. Amidst the madness of it all, he manages to sprinkle moments of playfulness, bringing some levity to the story. The film also faced major challenges during production due to COVID, which forced Dev and his team to shift production from India to Indonesia. You can tell from the casting of extras that the film wasn’t shot in India. However, the production and costume design teams have done a great job concealing that as much as possible. The smart use of voice-overs in Hindi also adds an authentic vibe.

It’s astonishing how mature Monkey Man looks and feels, considering it’s Dev’s first film. Even if you end up disliking the film, it would be remiss not to appreciate his ambition as a first-time filmmaker. There are two scenes I particularly enjoyed: the training montage with the late maestro Zakir Hussain (whose glimpse you’ve already seen in the trailer), and the fight scene featuring Bloodywood’s Dana Dan. Two absolute banger scenes. I must also add, Dev’s choice of music is top-notch.

Monkey Man is an action flick, so you'd naturally expect good action sequences, which Dev delivers with great style and control. The camerawork is energetic and perfectly complements the action choreography. Dev and his cinematographer, Sharone Meir, adopt a rugged approach, employing lots of handheld shots and close-ups, even utilizing devices like iPhones and GoPros. The much-talked-about low-angle shots of the fight sequences are quite effective, as are the POV shots, reminiscent of the 2015 action film Hardcore Henry. Both techniques seamlessly blend with longer takes and other well-planned shot selections, some of which are symbolic and stylish. In an interview, Dev mentioned that the shakiness in the camera movement during action sequences gradually lessens as his character becomes stronger and more confident. The film also incorporates John Wick-styled neon-inspired lighting, which, coupled with saturated tones, gives it a gritty and grimy look.

Now, on the narrative front, I thought the frequent flashbacks to show the past didn’t work as effectively for me. After the first few visions, I was able to gather the story, making the rest of them seem repetitive. Also, the emotional anchor that Dev was going for wasn’t strong enough, in my opinion. To elaborate, John Wick used one of the most effective emotional thrusts to get the vengeance arc rolling - the death of the puppy. It’s an unwritten rule in cinema that showing the death of a dog is a big no-no. So, when that happened, we, the audience, were instantly shaken up by it, so much so that the symbol of the dog has become inseparable from John Wick. Similarly, in the Korean film The Man from Nowhere, the fatherless little girl became the emotional connection between the audience and the story. We rooted for the protagonist to succeed for the sake of the girl. Here, in Monkey Man, even though Dev used a backstory about a tragic mother-son relationship, it felt lacking in its ability to develop a strong emotional attachment to the hero’s cause. One reason could be the fact that similar tropes are a staple in Indian cinema. But also, more importantly, I felt the backstory wasn’t explored with enough depth and nuance and was simply glossed over. The same can be said about most other aspects of the screenplay. Even the use of Indian iconography felt like a tightrope walk, with the balance tilting towards stereotyping to pander to Western audiences. But it’s Dev Patel, our Brown Knight, so he gets a pass. I could tell that all of it came from a place of love and admiration, and his intentions were good. And that really shows in the way he deals with the politics of the film. Monkey Man not only tackles the topic of social inequality but also the marginalization of the trans community, and more controversially, the influence of Godmen and the weaponization of religion or spirituality for mass manipulation.

I like how he showed religious mythology as a source of strength and courage - a guide rather than a set of rules. Dev’s character was inspired by it, not governed by it. Religion, in my opinion, should be such. The moment you commodify, politicize, and weaponize it, you take away its essence. Dev doesn’t dive deep into it, but touching upon a subject like that in the current political climate is a big deal in itself, especially for a Patel. I wonder how many awkward family dinners he’s had to attend since the film came out.

Jokes aside, I think Dev Patel has made a commendable effort in making something he is passionate about. Monkey Man, even with its narrative shortfalls, is quite entertaining. Dev Patel’s screen presence and performance are absolutely great, as are the performances of all the cast members. I cannot wait to see what he does next.