Dev Patel (The Green Knight, Slumdog Millionaire) has much more on his mind than straightforward action homage with his high-octane directorial feature debut, Monkey Man. At the SXSW world premiere, Patel told the enrapt audience that he poured his soul into his hyper-violent actioner, and broke two toes, a hand, tore a shoulder, and battled an eye infection along with all the blood, sweat, and tears getting the film made. The effort shows in every frame.
While the violence onscreen is palpable and painful, it’s not the exquisite fight choreography and thrilling action set pieces that set Monkey Man apart but also its political consciousness, unique narrative structure, and myth-making scale.
Patel, who also produces and co-wrote the screenplay with John Collee and Paul Angunawela, stars as Kid. Inspired by the legend of Hanuman, told to him by his mother as a child, Kid earns money at an underground fight club by throwing fights and taking punches while donning a monkey mask. The anonymity allows him to save up cash for an elaborate revenge scheme to infiltrate the city’s corrupt elite and settle up with the man who took everything from him.
While Monkey Man pays tribute to all of the action genre’s greats, from the Indonesian action classics to Korean revenge cinema and even a John Wick joke or two, Dev Patel’s cultural spin and unique narrative structure leave behind all influences in the dust for new terrain. Vengeance may serve as Kid’s only focus and aim, but he’s a far cry from the invincible hero type that frequently dominates the action. Kid is the epitome of an underdog, one more likely to fumble through a fight and come away battered and bleeding. His plans, though intricate and clever, derail often and spiral out of control to great, bloody effect.
It’s in those failures that Patel brings endless pathos, worldbuilding, and effortless style. His hero gets knocked down, only to miraculously pick himself back up again and again through sheer force of will. Like Hanuman. That winds up attracting a variety of unexpected allies, including vivacious street hustler Alphonso (Pitobash), mysterious and alluring sex worker Sita (Sobhita Dhulipala), and the pivotal Alpha (Vipin Charmin), the spiritual mother of the mystical third-gender tribe knows as the hijra.
Monkey Man is epic in scale. Patel packs the two-hour runtime with an endless barrage of set pieces and kinetic action sequences, all while employing a variety of techniques that maintain a propulsive, intense pace. A variety of techniques and camera tricks are utilized here. Cinematographer Sharone Meir masterfully immerses viewers in the stunning landscapes of rural India and bustling Mumbai city streets. When it comes to the action, Meir frequently puts viewers in Kid’s shoes, with the camera switching to first person perspective to plunge audiences into the high-octane insanity. The violence hits hard, especially as Kid finds inventive, excruciating, and frequently shocking ways to gain the upper hand.
Dev Patel in MONKEY MAN, directed by Dev Patel
Kid’s targets, corrupt police chief Rana (Sikandar Kher) and sociopathic guru Baba Shakti (Makarand Deshpande), further expand Monkey Man beyond a straightforward revenge actioner. Through their villainy, Patel taps into a variety of heady, complex themes and commentary that target government corruption, the oppressive caste system, and even religion. Not all of it neatly fits into an already packed feature or is explored fully, but Patel prevents it from spiraling out of his grasp through confident filmmaking and style.
Monkey Man presents Dev Patel as a new action hero, a tenacious underdog with a penetrating stare who bites, bludgeons, and stabs his way through bodies to gloriously bloody excess. More excitingly, the film introduces Patel as a strong visionary right out of the gate. There’s a profound sense of cultural identity and personality that pervades every facet of this brutal brawler, one that never forgets that character work and story are just as important to ensure the action has an impact. Boy, does the action have an immense impact here. While the film’s complex ideas threaten to overwhelm Kid’s quest for bare-knuckle brutality, Patel’s assured, audacious vision delivers an epic crowd-pleaser of mythic proportions. Run, don’t walk, to theaters for this one.
Monkey Man made its world premiere at SXSW and will release in theaters on April 5, 2024.