Monsters and Men

Starring: John David Washington, Anthony Ramos, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Chante Adams, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Nicole Beharle, Rob Morgan, Cara Buono
Directed by: Reinaldo Marcus Green
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Thriller
2018

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Follows three different men (a police officer, a witness to a violent crime, and a baseball player) in the aftermath of the killing of a black man by police officers.

Review:

Tim: I wanted to like Monsters and Men more than I actually did. There were quite a few positives in Reinaldo Marcus Green's film, but it somehow feels less than the sum of its parts. It's a decent movie, so don't take any of this as major criticism, but I thought the movie could have been better.

The premise behind the movie is such an important one. Police killing black men has long been a problem in this country- it was a problem in 2018 when this film was released, and it's unfortunately still a major issue in 2020 when I watched this movie. I don't want to take anything away from the film's message and the light it shines on these travesties. In this film, there's a police shooting of a black man, and we follow the stories of three men who deal with the aftermath of it. We get the story of a black police offer dealing with strong mixed feelings, being pulled in two different directions. He feels loyalty to his police family, but he recognizes the systemic racism in the country and on the police force. We get the story of an eyewitness to the shooting, who courageously shares the video publicly, and what that act costs him. Finally, we get the story of a promising young black baseball player struggling between staying on the straight-and-narrow, and standing up in protest. Each of these stories is humanized and examined, as there is real complexity in each of the stories. They do weave together a tapestry that helps us understand the reverberations that ring throughout a community when a shooting like this occurs.

Up to this point, it all seems positive, right? The issue I had is that the movie leaves all three of these stories unfinished. We get glimpses into these characters, we start to care about them, but the stories never satisfactorily conclude. This blunts the impact of the stories. We needed more time with each of them. Each of the characters was compelling in their own right, but it feels like we get half their stories. This might just be a flaw in the way the film was written. It doesn't make it a bad movie, but it never feels as effective as it could have been.

The cast is good. John David Washington is a surprisingly good actor. It's obviously in his DNA, but I've been so impressed how he has stood on his own. He's a talented actor and he did good work here. I certainly wanted more time with him, but what we get is impressive. Anthony Ramos is effective as well. I enjoyed his performance in Hamilton and it was fun getting to see him again here. His story might have been my least favorite, but it's an important one. Kelvin Harrison Jr. is perhaps the best part of the film, which is not what I expected going into it. Now, I was impressed with his performance in Waves, so it wasn't completely unexpected. Still, I was struck by his authenticity and his ability to convey a great deal in subtle ways. I got caught up in his story and felt the closest connection to his character. His story had some truly emotional moments. The rest of the cast was good. I always love seeing Rob Morgan pop up, and as usual, he adds a lot with limited screen time.

Monsters and Men has some flaws, but it's a decent movie. There's enough glimpses to suggest that director Reinaldo Marcus Green could be something special. I certainly anticipate future movies will improve on this, his directorial debut. I didn't love this movie, but there were moments (for example, the baseball players getting stopped by police) that caused your breath to catch. Green will be able to build on this film and I anticipate big things from him. As for this film, it's flawed, but it's worth seeing.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Stop (short), The Hate U Give, Waves