Monkey Man-Dev Patel’s Bold, Audacious Directorial Debut

Monkey Man is Dev Patel's incredibly audacious directorial debut. The film uniquely blends Hollywood action filmmaking with a more Bollywood-like style and sensibility. It's a style I haven't seen before, and Patel handles it with such bold confidence. The film also avoids most of the issues I tend to have with most directorial debuts. Most debuts I've seen tend to feel directionless in their story and pacing. Monkey Man never feels that way. There's always a sense that it's going somewhere and leading to something.

The film centers around a revenge story that, while a bit basic on paper, is incredibly emotionally effective in execution. The use of flashbacks throughout the movie got me more and more emotionally invested in the story, seeing glimpses of the protagonist's childhood that showed me exactly what he lost and why he's fighting to avenge it. The relationships he forms throughout the film also help make me emotionally invested in the story, with the protagonist's interactions with the people around him driving his motivation more and more in ways I found quite moving.

There's also an incredibly intricate sense of world-building here. The world of poverty and corruption showcased here feels meticulously constructed. I always understood exactly how this world works and how the protagonist navigates it. It also helped drive his motivation even more, as the film effectively shows the flaws of this world and why the protagonist wants to protect and improve it.

More than anything, though, the film is a fantastic showcase of bold, confident filmmaking. Patel shows himself to be an extremely talented filmmaker, with impressive crane shots, tracking shots, and a striking use of neon lighting. His filmmaking is most effective during the fight scenes, where Patel and his collaborators go full John Wick mode with brutal choreography, frenetic camerawork, and editing that makes the action clean and understandable despite the shaky cam and the action's sometimes chaotic feel.

The film's pacing isn't always the greatest. The opening act, as the protagonist rises through the ranks of a corrupt business to begin his quest for revenge, shows the protagonist and the world he inhabits. As compelling as that could be, it takes too long and makes the first act drag. The second act similarly drags on long, as the protagonist attempts to build himself back up to reattempt his revenge.

Despite its issues, Monkey Man is still one of the boldest directional debuts I've seen in quite some time. It's a film that feels confident in practically every area, from its story to world-building to filmmaking, especially its action. In its blend of Hollywood and Bollywood styles, Dev Patel gives the film a unique style and flair you rarely see in directorial debuts. With Monkey Man, Dev Patel has shown himself to be as effective a director as he is as an actor.

Now Showing in Theaters in the U.S.