From Folklore to the Big Screen: Dev Patel's Passion Project, Monkey Man
You may have not noticed, but for the past three years, Dev Patel has been missing. Aside from his appearances in two of the four Roald Dahl-based Wes Anderson shorts (The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Poison) in 2023, he hadn’t been seen on the silver screen since 2021’s The Green Knight. Instead was deep in the slums of India, working and churning out his idea for what was then described as “John Wick in Mumbai.” The movie is Monkey Man, a passion project for Patel that was originally purchased by Netflix, until Jordan Peele and his Monkeypaw Productions swooped in, acquired the film and prepped it for the big screen.
Written, directed, starring, and produced by Dev Patel, Monkey Man is a political revenge thriller about a man named Kid who seeks vengeance against those who killed his mom. The story isn’t really important to all of this; it’s actually pretty basic. Where this movie really decides to lean into its plot is in the political sense, of which I am not very well versed. I am unfamiliar with the nuances of the situation but the film seems to have its mind made up, so I will only be speaking about politics from the angle of how the film presents them. Kid fights with a monkey mask on, and we’re told the folktale of a monkey man who protects the village from wrongdoers. Then through some flashbacks were given a bit of exposition, but it comes at you so fast that it makes it a bit difficult to keep track of. Are we supposed to be more concerned with Kid’s journey to avenge his mother or with his pursuits to dismantle a corrupt government? The film doesn’t really answer that question, instead merging the two storylines in a really muddy and unconfident way.
It’s a shame that the story of Monkey Man is so difficult to follow because everything else is so well done. You can feel the passion oozing off of the movie. Patel went away to iron out every detail, to the point where it feels like you can see the movie playing in his head. The stylish action sequences are bolstered by a killer score from Jed Kurzel that thumps along to each and every hit. The neon-soaked penthouses pose as gorgeous arenas for the combat to happen, and the cinematography by Sharone Meir amplifies it. You can feel the heat of India through the camera, and the way that he captures the streets feels almost adjacent to the works of Patel’s mentors Blomkamp and Boyle.
The film may have initially been compared to John Wick, but besides the last 45 minutes of nonstop action, the comparisons aren't very apparent. Kid isn’t a world-class assassin, but instead a fighter in an underground ring who more often than not is taking loss after loss. But throughout the film, we watch him learn his enemy’s tactics and slowly increase his ability to the point that, come the last act of the film, you believe that he is capable. The tension in the film’s final act is so palpable that you kind of forget the movie’s plot shortcomings and it locks you back in for the action.
Dev Patel is so committed to this story and the physicality of his character in a way that most wouldn’t commit to. He should be commended for his efforts, even if some of his decisions were a bit misguided. This was clearly a big deal for him and it shows on screen. Should it have gone straight to streaming? No, and you can see why Jordan Peele felt the need to step in. It’s a huge swing of a movie and if you can get on board with it, it does take you for a ride. Monkey Man would be somewhat distracting to watch at home: the messiness of it all would cause viewers to look down at their phones and back up at the screen, slightly confused as to how they got to certain points. The visuals are enough to make it worth a trip to your local theater, the crunchy sound of bones snapping can’t really be achieved in this sort of fidelity without a weighty at home sound system. The decision to rescue this thing from Netflix was a smart one, and I think Universal and Monkeypaw should give themselves a pat on the back for it. Is it reinventing the wheel? Not really, but it does do stylish action in a way that was made for the theatrical experience.
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Blake Williams has a B.A. in Film and Television Production from Ball State University. He aspires to one day be a director, but until that day comes you can find him at a showing of whatever's playing that day or at home alphabetizing a shelf of movies and games and muttering about how he should "slow down on spending."