Monkey Man is Dev Patel’s passion project, though it’s Jordan Peele who is to thank for the form of its release. It was he who saved the movie from Netflix, who had acquired it as mere platform real estate before nearly having it shelved due to concerns about how its contentious political themes would play for Indian audiences. Peele saw a cut of the movie, came on as a producer, and persuaded Universal to acquire it for a wide theatrical release. Suddenly this little movie that might have amounted to nothing is an action blockbuster with the same breadth as John Wick. An excellent and admirable use of one’s power in Hollywood.
And apart from its specific energized action, there is an urgency to Monkey Man that warrants the scope of its theatrical release -for countries around the world but especially for India itself (where unfortunately it may be the least likely to be seen). Even as it is strictly an outsider film, produced and funded largely through American and British bodies, that very fact has allowed it to in a way speak more aptly to its subjects of right-wing religious nationalism in India and a kind of class corruption perhaps swept under the rug by India’s often strict film censorship apparatus. Bold that it does so too in the trappings of the action revenge film -a genre itself quite popular over there.
Patel stars in the movie, as well as directing and co-writing it, not skipping the chance to -if only for a moment- be an action hero himself. His character is nameless (though he goes by “Bobby” for a portion of the runtime) -referred to as ‘Kid’ in the credits. Kid, who grew up in a forest village enraptured by stories from Hindu mythology -and particularly that of Hanuman the monkey god- comes to the city of Yatana in the years after his home was pillaged and his mother murdered by local authorities, to find those responsible among the city’s political and religious elite and take revenge. While supporting himself as a masked street wrestler under the alias ‘Monkey Man’ he infiltrates a high-end business in order to get closer to his main targets -a manipulative celebrity guru and a corrupt police chief.
A lot of his backstory and relationship to these figures is clarified as the movie unfolds, Patel more interested in immersing his audience upfront in this world that very starkly contrasts the serenity of his pastoral childhood flashbacks with the grungy impoverished world of his present circumstances as low-caste in the city, with the gross vice and opulence in the circles of its rich overlords. Even the perceptibly humble spiritualist Baba Shakti (Makarand Deshpande) lives in the luxury of his power and influence -one ritual in a pristine temple is witnessed and cheered on by hundreds. And that kind of hypocrisy seems to be what most grates on Patel, who is keen also to tie such figures to specific political and social identities. The film takes place in an election year, Shakti endorsing a Hindu nationalist party (with a leader who bears a resemblance to Narendra Modi), while government attacks against the transgender community are happening in the background. Patel has said the movie is about the plight of the underdog and it’s good to see he recognizes where the most vulnerable underdogs are. And he spells this out by drawing direct connections to real modern incidents of social unrest and crisis in India that flash rapid-fire before his mind during a moment of vocational lucidity.
Patel likes this kind of fast-paced editing, particularly in fight or chase sequences in order to evoke a sense of free-wheeling chaos (and in some places by his own admission to disguise the limitations of a very uneasy production). But while the mood it conveys is appropriate, the execution often leaves the scenes wanting for visual clarity. This is a violent movie, and yet in several fights the injuries don’t resonate so strongly because the cutting doesn’t allow for the impact to be felt. A car chase and a foot chase about midway through aren’t as exciting as they could be because the geography is obscured by this need for propulsive pacing. It makes the stakes for Kid harder to quantify. What’s most unfortunate about this choice is that Patel clearly has a passion for action filmmaking and stunt-work that isn’t given just expression here. Fortunately, he eases up by the climactic sequences once Kid has fully come into his own and Patel’s hard work is on better display.
And he does prove some real filmmaking aptitude elsewhere -he can rest on a striking image or two, draw meaningful symbolism connecting Kid’s story, and the narrative of the film more broadly, to that of Hanuman; setting a context of injustice along the way. He’s unapologetic in the disrepute and brutality of the world that he is tearing down as well -not only are the kinds of people he’s after those who would frequent an upscale brothel that serves vials of cocaine, but they are exceptionally violent and vindictive, especially the chief Rana Singh (Sikander Kher), with whom Kid has his most brutal confrontations. The way that he marries that violence to gaudy refinement is quite catching, as is his illustration of the depreciation that trickles down to the corners of civilization he exists in. He's both cognizant of the methods of visual symbolism and inventive as to how to craft action beats around them.
His movie does come short in some respects of its commentary, it must be said. The Islamophobia of much of the Hindu nationalist movement is referenced but not interrogated. Patel is aware that he is walking on eggshells with very controversial issues in India, so is careful not to use a lot of direct Hindu iconography in association with his villains -choosing to portray them in much the same way western media would pious and corrupt priests. And of course for his hero he is drawing from the same mythological well. The caste issue is also a touch underdeveloped beyond sporadic imagery and a couple lines referring to social inequities. On this front it hasn't the bite of Patel's breakout, Slumdog Millionaire.
But where it may lack in direct insight it makes up for in characterization. Both Deshpande and Kher make for compelling antagonists, the former especially; while Kid's allies include Pitobash Tripathy as the wickedly streetsmart Alphonso and Vipin Sharma as Alpha, the wise leader of the transgender enclave Kid takes refuge in. Sobhita Dhulipala as a mistreated escort and Sharlto Copley as the wrestler M.C. round out the cast with nuanced and gonzo performances respectively.
Monkey Man is a semi-successful melding of Indian culture and political contexts with modern action aesthetics, both western and eastern. The hodge-podge isn't clean by any means, and some of Patel's choices leave something to be desired, but it is interesting, and very compelling on its base thematic level. Patel's passion in both the subject and his convictions rings strongly, indicating the formation of a great director. It's important that Peele came in and saved the movie, one of those few action flicks -in spite of some reservations- with something meaningful to say.
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