‘Monkey Man’ Movie Review: Dev Patel is the new gonzo auteur in town

The unnamed character, referred to as ‘Kid’ is first seen in an ape mask fighting in what seems to be an underground arena, fighting and fighting only to lose. He is beaten and thrashed most nights of the week, with a measly extra cash the more he bleeds. Run by an unscrupulous south African (Sharlto Copley). The ‘Monkey Man’ is set in the fictional town of the sordid, contemporary Mumbai, 'Yatana'. And the mythical Hindu god, 'Hanuman', centers the film’s main metaphor. With the bled cash, he tries to get closer to the den of power and corruption housed in the multistorey King’s Club. At first his thirst for revenge and this obsession to get through the higher ranks isn’t revealed to us. After his infiltration into the building as a dishwasher clerk hired by the mean and bossy manager Queenie (Ashwini Kalsekar), he soon ascends to the position of a waiter to get into the elite penthouse. He then sets his eyes on the police chief Rana (Sikandar Kher) and he patiently waits to blow his brains out. But their first brutal encounter takes a terrific turn of events, sending Kid tumbling down from one building to the next and then flying the coop from the relentless cops. Finding refuge in a clandestine hideout of the ‘hijra’ community, Kid recovers with the help of the sage Alpha (Vipin Sharma) and her other comrades. After recuperating, the newly transformed ‘Monkey Man’ unleashes his wrath on the upper echelon who wronged his mother and his peaceful village.

Dev Patel’s directorial debut is a force to be reckoned with. Crafting a film of this caliber, with an insanely troubled production that started pre-Covid is admirable to the essence of filmmaking (Patel credited producer Jordan Peele as the films “saviour”). The low angle camera takes, the fast-paced seamless sequences, and the influence of the ‘John Wick’ and ‘The Raid’ franchises enriches the action thriller far more than you can imagine. From being a downtrodden punching bag in a fight club, to avenging his dear mother, by absolutely massacring his foes, ’Monkey Man’ is relentless on his quest to salvation.

Though the film has real gut, what’s a little upsetting is the underdeveloped side characters who had a very promising introduction. The non-hostile hostess “Sita” (Sobhita Dhulipala) and the flippant associate “Alphonso” (Pitabhash Tripathi) fade away from the story like they never existed. The ardent supporters of the nameless protagonist, the ‘hijras’, headed by Alpha (Vipin Sharma), is the only interesting aspect of the nameless protagonist’s acquaintances.

Sikandar Kher’s performance as the venal and hollow-hearted police officer is very powerful. While he isn’t the main antagonist of the film, he really puts on a menacing visage. With Sobhita Dhulipala’s scant scenes, there’s not much to write home about her performance, other than being one of the most beautiful hostesses in the film. But of all the performances, the one that even outshines the actor previously thought of as a sweetie pie (reference to Dev Patel) is actor, Vipin Sharma, who played the child protagonist’s father compellingly in the Aamir Khan-starrer ‘Taare Zameen Par’ (2007).

Director Dev Patel gets over ambitious with this project. As his first feature film, Patel’s unbridled desire sets him out on a quest to prove that he has got what it takes to be in the big leagues of the cinema industry. Which should not be looked down on, he really puts his mind and soul into the film’s story. But what is even more essential to the film is the actor Dev Patel. His previous performances in the David Lowery-directed ‘The Green Knight’ (2021) and his role in the Oscar nominated ‘Lion’ (2016) sets a bar too high for Patel. Somebody should remind Dev Patel the director, that Dev Patel the actor can do a lot more than this.

Uniquely, ‘Monkey Man’ embodies Patel's declaration of his sense of belonging to his culture and heritage. It represents his endeavour, bold yet flawed and occasionally chaotic, to sift through the fragments of his identity and fashion in his personal mythology. His commitment to selling an eye-gouging and nut-punching and head-smashing and what must be a world record for throat-stabbings with a heartfelt revenge plot is absolutely commendable.

(The Indian theatrical release has been postponed from the original April release. The new date shall be updated once announced.)