A skinny Indian boy child ("Kid," who could almost be a young version of Patel in Slumdog), witnesses his mother'r brutal murder by a corrupt policeman, Rana Singh, who destroys Kid's village and sets Kid's mother on fire, after brutally beating her to a pulp. The boy, intent on vengeance, trains to become a fighter and grows up to be a boxer who fights wearing a monkey mask, in honour of the Hindu god Hanuman, with whom he identifies and whom he worships. Kid meticulously plans his life in order to get to the place where he will have the opportunity to kill Rana Singh. Kid's first attempt to kill Rana Singh fails, and he becomes an outlaw. He takes refuge in a temple where a group of Hajira (India's third gender) are also given sanctuary. Kid then takes on the mission to fight for the downtrodden, whilst continuing his mission to avenge his mother's murder.
The film features almost constant violence, but there are enough scenes in the forest, in the temple, with the Harjiras, and in connection with Hanuman, to raise Monkey Man well beyond the level of a mere action film. A climactic scene when Kid returns to kill Rana Singh is stunning, particularly when the Hajira arrive. This is a battle between good and evil, mirroring the battle between Hanuman and Ravanna and his demonic hordes. The film is set against the political turmoil of contemporary India.
The Hajira arrive, ready to support Kid in the climax
I've seen several movies with Dev Patel. I liked Slumdog and enjoyed the Marigold films, though those films are a far cry from Monkey Man. I did not like the annoying revisionist David Copperfield film, with Dev in the title role, though that film at least featured an unusally sympathetic Uriah Heep, played by Ben Whishaw. I was disappointed in The Green Knight, which was a revisionist take on an Arthurian myth of which I am fond, but at least Dev as Sir Gawain represented a (very) small step toward the kind of role he plays in Monkey Man.
