Discomfort zone
Dev Patel pulls out all stops as actor and director in this ultra-violent action film
Movie fans who might only be familiar with Dev Patel for his obliging and distinctly unthreatening presence in films such as Slumdog Millionaire and Lion could be in for a severe shock should they catch a glimpse of Monkey Man.
This unapologetically confronting and ultra-violent action movie is very much a passion project for Patel, who not only takes the leading role in Monkey Man, but also makes his directorial debut here.
While the punishing physicality Patel brings to his performance will surprise many, it is the array of skills and singular vision he displays behind the camera that truly impresses.
Action fans in particular will be left both stunned and exhilarated by Monkey Man. Particularly when Patel’s intricate control of every aspect of the production is truly at its peak.
This isn’t just a movie that immediately throws everything but the kitchen sink at its audience. Monkey Man then proceeds to unbolt that kitchen sink from the wall, and chases each and every viewer into their very own discomfort zone.
Patel plays an enigmatic underdog we will come to know as Kid. Jobs are hard to come by in the crowded metropolis of Yatana – a hellish reimaging of modern-day Mumbai – so Kid has been making ends meet as a human punching bag in an underground fight club.
Kid puts on a monkey mask every night, takes a fall so his opponent can win, then takes home his pay packet.
So far, so brutally bleak, right? Wrong. Just wait until Kid finds himself another job. Soon he will be rising through the ranks of Yatana’s most exclusive nightclub, a sleazy joint where sex, drugs and sinister behaviour reign supreme.
Kid is here because he just has to be. For this is the preferred playground of the man who killed Kid’s mother many years ago, the cravenly corrupt police chief Rana (Sikander Kher).
The expected showdown between Kid and Rana – a marathon fight sequence that reaches John Wicklike levels of beautiful chaos – happens earlier than expected, but hardly marks the end of the picture.
In fact, Kid has a long way to go – and many more bone-crunching blows to endure – before he has a chance to deliver the comeuppance that will define his destiny.
There can be no doubting that the arrival of Monkey Man is guaranteed to propel Patel towards bigger and better things as an action filmmaker.
However, the movie is far from perfect. Particularly on the editing and scripting front, where too many flashbacks and repeated plot points squander the power generated by Monkey Man’s most electrifying scenes.