Monsters and Men review: Following on from his recent success with Spike Lee’s Cannes debuter BlacKkKlansman, John David Washington also excels in this new outstanding work, a trio of interlinking stories told from varying points of view in present-day New York. The narrative stems from a single incident, the fatal shooting of a well-regarded local character, a former, very well regarded serviceman named Darius (Big D), on a Brooklyn street corner.
Image credit: Courtesy of TIFF
Monsters and Men review [TIFF]
We open to Washington’s Dennis, who has been pulled over by an unfamiliar uniformed officer in a random stop and go. He flashes his badge, but his unknown colleague checks his credentials anyway. The well-constructed, near-silent opening scene sets the mood well, director Reinaldo Marcus Green shifting from close-ups of a concealed weapon to Washington’s seemingly hesitant face. It is only when the filmmaker chooses to show his police issue badge as Dennis replaces it into his wallet, that we know that the character is an officer of the law – a very well-staged scene setting up the themes behind the narrative very nicely.
We move swiftly on to the first act, all revolving around Anthony Ramos’ Manny, a teenager who we meet applying for a front-of-house security job in Manhattan. We follow him back to the streets of Brooklyn and an interaction with Darius, an elder who is clearly respected. Flash forward a few hours and we see Manny witness Darius’ horrific shooting in the same after being surrounded by six police officers. Manny captures everything on his phone, and after uploading the uncut video to the internet, sets off a chain of events that affects many around him, both in the police force, amongst his peers, and across the residents of Brooklyn who start to rise up against the brutality they have all witnessed.
Related: BlackKkKlansman review
The narrative includes Washington’s Dennis in the second act and then a very strong final third with the superb Kelvin Harrison Jr. as promising high school baseball student Zyric, who is about to break into the big league with a huge incoming deal set to come off the back of an imminent showcase, something that may not become his sole focus following more recent events.
The main asset that Monsters and Men has is its outstanding cast. Everyone that I have mentioned so far delivers top-notch performances, Washington rapidly rivaling his father with his varying career choices, and skillful execution, while other leads in Ramos, Harrison Jr and Rob Morgan in support as Zyrick’s encouraging father equally engross and out-perform in their respective roles.
The film leaves a lot of questions unanswered, but that is the point, and its timely presence in a period of social unease is urgent and as equally alarming. One also about reactions to actions and potential repercussions of standing up for what you believe in.
An outstanding piece of cinema.
Monsters and Men review by Paul Heath, September 2018.
Monsters and Men was reviewed at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. Click here for all of our coverage.
