Dev Patel’s ‘Monkey Man’ is a Riveting Revenge Story

Mayhem, murder and metaphorical monkeys are at the crux of “Monkey Man.”

The film, released March 11, is more than just an addition to the revenge story genre. While riveting fight scenes elevate the film’s spectacle and shock factor, the narrative is one of rage, corruption and power struggle between oppressed classes and their oppressors. 

Director and co-writer Dev Patel stars as Kid, a poor laborer who earns his living by partaking in an underground fight club, donning a monkey mask. Haunted by his mother’s death and repressed childhood trauma, Kid infiltrates a club run by city elites in search of retribution against his mother’s killers. 

Patel (“Lion,” “Slumdog Millionaire”) as Kid is emotionally raw and adrenaline inducing. Tearful moments are defined by Patel’s masterful exhibition of Kids’ anguish in his tearful moments. Juxtaposing Kid’s tenderness, Patel exceptionally depicts the furious parts of his character with fierce facial expressions and physically demanding action sequences.

“Monkey Man” elevates the standard fight scene — every scene with Kid engaged in combat is brutally feral and chaotic. Expressive camera panning and tilting creates a lasting, disorienting impression of Kid’s desperation.

Hindu mythos is prevalent through the film and is used as a device to draw comparison from the ancient tales to modern social issues. Kid’s journey is constantly compared to the story of the Hindu deity Hanuman — a half-human and half-monkey god punished by other gods for mistakenly eating the sun. 

Throughout the film, parallels — such as their shared fall from grace in their backstories — are drawn between Hanuman and Kid in his fight for revenge and strength. As part of the lower class, Kid — akin to Hanuman — represents the politically powerless in their struggles against city bureaucrats, emblems of the gods in Hanuman’s tale.

The central conflict between oppressed and oppressors translates to the movie’s antagonist Baba Shakti, a spiritual guru bribed by city bureaucrats to endorse their policies that displace and kill residents, including Kid’s mother. Shakti’s apathy towards the suffering he causes highlights the callousness in which those in power inflict pain onto the powerless. 

As a spiritual leader Shakti, played by Makarand Deshpande,  should be a peacemaking prophet. Instead, he’s a corrupt political figure concerned with his own desires. Deshpande (“Liger,” “Jailer”) does well depicting Shakti’s sinister nature and god-like status through a confident demeanor and menacing line delivery. 

In their joint scenes, there is stark contrast between Kid and Baba Shakti’s characters. Kid, always dressed in black, becomes the film’s moral symbol. In contrast, Baba Shakti — an upper class elite — is dressed in white. But his intentions are anything but pure, signaling a symbolic  play on who’s innocent versus who’s corrupt. 

Amidst violence and discord, Kid isn’t a character to be reduced to only anger and vengeance. Underneath his rage, there is profound grief. Like Hanuman, Kid is on a journey towards self-actualization. Anger cannot sustain him and Kid must discover how to endure his trauma and move forward.

At its worst, “Monkey Man” seeks to tackle too many ideas at once without reconciling loose threads. At its best, the film functions as a multifaceted narrative about the powerless finding inner-strength. 

“Monkey Man” is in theaters now. 

Featured image courtesy of Universal Pictures.