Introduction
The ultra-violent revenge thriller Monkey Man, recently released and a co-production of Universal Pictures and Monkey Paw Productions is a striking example of writer, director, and actor Dev Patel’s quieter creative vision. The intense, fast-paced action scenes and story, revolving around one man’s resistance to a system designed to destroy it, allow Patel to vividly and sometimes even artistically demonstrate his love for the action genre. The adrenaline-pumping film explores this style of violence in a way reminiscent of John Wick. However, the film’s attempt to combine Hindu chaos and mythology with a social and political critique of modern India ends up being more confusing than helpful.
Monkey Man tells the story of an unknown man transformed into a fierce warrior, evoking the mystical adventures of the simian hero Hanuman from the Ramayana. The change occurred years after the death of his mother, Adithi Kalkunte played the role of Neela. The story is set in the fictional city of Yatana, known for its vibrant atmosphere, tall skyscrapers, and widespread government corruption. It paints a picture of a society where struggle is a constant, especially for marginalized groups. In the environment, the powerful and wealthy elite class has supreme power, protected by their wealth and power, thus making them immune to the laws of justice and government.
Patel lives a lonely and difficult life in an environment of extreme economic pressure where job opportunities are few. To survive, he is forced to adopt the cruel identity of “The Beast,” one of a gang of masked warriors participating in vicious fights in the dark world of South African society. Tiger, a South African underworld figure whose moral compass is missing, is responsible for the staged match. Patel’s unwavering determination is fueled by the burning memory of his mother, allowing him to endure horrific physical punishment. However, the enduring guilt of a survivor overwhelms him, forcing him to voluntarily accept the deafening blows he receives in the arena. When an important opportunity arises to take revenge on those responsible for the death of his mother and the destruction he caused to his life, Patel seizes the opportunity to make sure they know the extent of his pain.
Character Dynamics
The main character in Monkey Man is motivated by a deep personal grudge. Like the other main characters in the film, he goes beyond simple individualism. Each of them represents a more important aspect of modern Indian society, portrayed in such a way that their deeds serve as miniature representations of the larger concepts they champion.
Think of the ruthless Commissioner Rana Singh, portrayed by Sikandar Kher with frightening conviction. His preference for using cruelty as a technique to dominate his subordinates also represents the tyrannical authority of the ruling class. Yatana is a fictional metropolis with resonance beyond the world of the film. The dynamics permeate Yatana. It’s not just a Mumbai trope; it is an allegory for India’s prosperous cities where widening economic disparities and stark social stratification work together to trap poor castes in their never-ending struggle against poverty.
Likewise, Ashwini Kalsekar’s portrayal of sex trafficker Queenie Kapoor represents more than just her nefarious work. She turns into the ultimate embodiment of social evil, a terrifying image of people taking advantage of the weak for their gain.
In the same vein, the character played by Dev Patel has a certain identity, but the film deliberately avoids revealing his real name. The anonymity serves an important purpose: it allows the narrative to frame him as an archetype, an ordinary man. His struggle became symbolic of the wider suffering experienced by India’s poor population.
One of the film’s opening set pieces exemplifies the approach. It depicts a frenetic edited relay race taking place across the bustling cityscape of Yatana. The sequence begins with a daring act of pickpocketing that immediately thrusts the audience into the heart of the city’s lower classes. The frenetic scenes not only display the ingenious methods used by the poor townspeople to ensure their survival. However, it also shows a stark contrast between their everyday reality and the lives of individuals like Baba Shakti, a celebrity guru with political connections living a privileged life.
Faith looms large in the mind of the hero Patel, haunted and strengthened by his memories of his mother regaling him with stories about Hanuman, the inspiration for his fighting personality. Despite his religiosity being framed as a virtue signal, Monkey Man clumsily and half-heartedly attempts to use Shakti as a supporter of India’s right-wing Hindutva movement and the violence it unleashes against Indian Muslims and other non-Hindu minorities.
Although Monkey Man uses passing political commentary to differentiate itself from similar action thriller material like John Wick, paying verbal and visual homage throughout the story, the commentary is shallow. The film attempts to delve into the elements hurting characters like Shakti while emphasizing the different persecution experienced by people like the genderqueer hijra Alpha. However, the analysis seems incomplete. Although the film takes a different, more avant-garde visual direction when Alpha first appears, neither he nor the other LGBTQ+ characters in it ever really develop into fully realized people.
In his debut behind the camera, Patel proves himself as a promising director with a talent for creating a variety of scenes. Monkey Man unfolds along the trajectory of its protagonist’s tumultuous quest, encompassing scenes both extremely exhilarating and deeply moving. Although Patel displays commendable shooting skills, especially when directing his performance, the film’s attempts to incorporate Hindu mythology into the narrative feel somewhat inelegant. The efforts come across as a fairly straightforward way to imbue the film with a depth it might not inherently possess.
Religious Allusions and Themes
In the sacred courtyard of the Ramayana, the mighty Hanuman faces divine retribution from the god Indra for mistaking sunlight for tempting mangoes. The specific plot point echoes repeatedly throughout Monkey Man, serving as a thematic undercurrent as the film’s protagonist delves deeper into a decadent underground world controlled by the enigmatic Yatana. Despite the obvious religious allusions and narrative parallels to the Ramayana, the film is not simply an interpolated retelling of the god’s resurrection. At its core, the film explores the transformation of ordinary people driven by overwhelming anger into forces of unrelenting action. Indeed, Patel’s character may regard Queenie’s glitzy club and Shakti’s towering residence as heavenly fruit ripe for the taking; The film’s narrative fulfillment comes not through mystical feats but rather through a series of fight sequences albeit of varying effectiveness and pitting the hero against the enemy’s relentless onslaught of bloodthirsty thugs.
During his performance, Patel was shown to display a high level of enthusiasm as he fully committed to executing the complex stunt sequence of Monkey Man. The sequences such as the mid-film fight are exhilarating with the axe-wielding brothel owner reaching extraordinary levels of quality.
Patel was also shown to channel the essence of actor Keanu Reeves, adopting an entirely new wardrobe consisting of black clothing, a sartorial choice intended to demonstrate his determination to inflict grievous bodily harm and end the life of anyone daring to hinder his progress towards the success of his determined target.
Although Patel undoubtedly embodies the character with conviction and convincingly delivers every punch, stab, or act of mutilation he performs on his enemies, most of Monkey Man‘s action sequences fail to evoke any sense of novelty; the sequence bears strong similarities to those found in the filmographies of other directors like Lee Jeong-beom.
The degree to which the final act of Monkey Man rushes to evoke the impression of Patel attempting to create his interpretation of the John Wick film franchise serves as a testament to his passion for his particular genre of filmmaking while also acknowledging audiences’ fundamental desire within the genre: pure spectacle the fights are masterfully choreographed.
Conclusion and Future Prospects
In delivering a convincing performance as an action hero, Monkey Man is a successful foundation for Patel’s complete action star persona. The positive reception of the film paved the way for people to argue how it might just be the first step in Patel’s efforts toward stronger action narratives in the future.
Bibliography
- Adlakha, S. (2024). Monkey Man’s Political Critique Misses the Point. TIME.
- Nemiroff, P. (2024). ‘Monkey Man’ Review: Dev Patel Arrives as a Next-Level Action Star, at Last SXSW 2024. Collider.
- Sadarangani, S. (2024). “A Self-Learning Process” for Bollywood Actor Pitobash, on his journey in Jordan Peele-produced ‘Monkey Man’. New York Amsterdam News.
- Taylor, D. (2024). How ‘Monkey Man’ Went From Netflix Roadkill to Universal’s Theatrical Event. TheWrap.
