That actor is Dev Patel of “Slumdog Millionaire'' and “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,'' who not only plays the vulnerable but somehow unkillable avenger known as the Kid. This film also marks his feature directorial debut. And it's a very believable story. “Monkey Man” is strictly formulaic in terms of plot, but it bubbles and at times exudes the style of a first-time filmmaker trying to prove what he can do.
Set in Mumbai, the Hindu myth of the monkey god Hanuman provides both the film's title and its heavy-handed central metaphor. The Kid first appears as a monkey masked man fighting (and losing) a bare-knuckle fight in an underground arena run by a sleazy South African (Sharlto Copley). Through planning and subterfuge, the protagonist is hired as a dishwasher in the nightclub-cum-VIP brothel of the country's political powerhouses, and meets a sadistic police chief (Sikander Kher) and his quarry named Baba Shakti (Makarand Deshpande). Moving forward with the aim of A white-robed spiritual guru who runs the whole corrupt show.
What is kids beef? In a flashback that takes a while to understand, he and his holy mother (Aditi Kalkunte) belong to a minority group that the guru and his followers are against, and things don't go well for his mother. I can see that. This barely counts as a spoiler, since it's a rough synopsis of every revenge story since storytelling was invented.
No, what's important? Le Cinema du Wick That is, the protagonist must be stoic and exhausted while remaining mentally and physically upright, and must improvise and use any and all tools at hand: knives, axes, cocktail trays, half a porcelain sink, etc. However, he possesses almost mystical combat skills. . Another key element of this genre is that, to be fair, it's heavily influenced by martial arts films made in Hong Kong, Japan, and Thailand over the decades, but it's important to note that the matches are non-stop action-packed. It is choreographed as a ballet, stretching and bending the laws of physics. Like Busby Berkeley's dance routine.
Director Patel, cinematographer Sharone Meir, and fight choreographer Brahim Chubb shoot the scenes with an emphasis on hand-held close-ups, depriving the audience of the wide-ranging, consistent action that the film is supposed to portray. This is where “Monkey Man'' stumbles a bit. The greatest joy of this genre.Screenplay: Patel, Paul Angunawela, John Colley There's a smoldering love interest (Sobhita Dhulipala) and a comical Ratso Rizzo-esque sidekick (Pitbash), both of whom have little to do.
high score? A car chase featuring an army of police cars and a modified tuk-tuk, a fun and crazy training scene in the form of a duet between Kid playing the punching bag and legendary tabla master Zakir Hussain playing the hand drum, and Patel 's soulful charisma. All the muscles and bruises are visible underneath.
Additionally, “Monkey Man” addresses the inequalities of India's caste system in a more poignant way than one might expect. The glimpses into Mumbai's poverty are brief but harsh, and at one point Kidd takes refuge in a temple of abused transgender women led by Alpha (Vipin Sharma). Alpha conveys the leadership mantra necessary to get the protagonist back on his feet.
There's also the issue of the film's main villain, Baba Shakti. Baba Shakti, a grizzled ultra-nationalist power broker who drives his adoring mobs into a frenzy, may have looked a little too much like Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Netflix. The streaming giant, which counts India as one of its biggest markets, bought The Monkey Man, which was filmed in 2021, but kept it on the shelf for three years until Jordan Peele and Universal Pictures decided to release it in theaters. I had left it alone. The irony is that with Netflix on the back burner and India rumored to be delaying the film's release or planning stricter censorship, Patel could have done something even bolder. is. and “Monkey Man” than actually doing anything in that.
R. at area theaters. Strong bloody violence, sexual content/nudity, and drug use throughout. 121 minutes.
Ty Burr is the author of Ty Burr's Watch List, a movie recommendation newsletter. tyburrswatchlist.com.