TIFF Review: Monsters and Men

Score: A-

Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green

Cast: John David Washington, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Anthony Ramos, Chanté Adams

Running Time: 96 Minutes

Rated: R

“There wouldn’t be no Martin without Malcolm.”

A conversation piece at the very least, Reinaldo Marcus Green‘s Monsters and Men tackles the ever-present social issues surrounding a black man who is shot dead by a police officer outside a convenience store.

Told through the eyes of three different individuals, all with different takes on the incident, Monsters and Men never place blame or looks for accountability. Instead, Green works to craft a narrative that is informative, educational and conversational. The film allows you to be sympathetic for all involved, while also opening the door to constructive thinking - a rarity for any movie these days.

The film opens on Manny (Anthony Ramos), a new father whose family lives with his mom while his wife works to finish her degree and he painstakingly looks for a job. One night, while playing dice, he films the lethal shot that takes the life of Darius Larson by Officer Benito Suarez. It is this moment that becomes the center of our story as we watch how that night differently affects three diverse, but connected, black men.

Each protagonist’s story is flawlessly intertwined with that of the next, creating a determined and heartwrenching tale that pulls at your heartstrings and stimulates your mind.  It is this fluid approach that helps Monsters and Men work as it allows our attention to be direct and decisive. We are never distracted by time jumps or story detours. Instead, we get the full take before moving on; thus providing a comprehensive narrative that never loses its focus.

John David Washington and Kelvin Harrison Jr. comprise the other two viewpoints offered up throughout the film; Washington as a police detective and Harrison, a baseball protege on the verge of hitting it big.  Both, along with Ramos’ Manny, a mixture of angles of the conversation to life.  However, what makes Monsters and Men different than the countless previous films detailing the same social issue lies within the film’s fundamental understanding of itself.

The story here is ultimately more extensive than any one individual character.  The film gets that, opting not to try and answer the big questions, but rather open the channel for conversation.  The drama, the humanity, and the heartbreak are all real, allowing those watching on to connect with its many players.  Through this, a wealth of emotions rise to the surface: sorrow, frustration, grief.  All of these are good, but for a film like Monsters and Men, the real test of its effectiveness lies beyond the screen and the theater.  Whether it prompts a larger conversation, only time will tell.  However, Green has comprised a brilliant cast to tell a painful but all too relevant story, proving once again that art is often a pathway to change.

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About Stephen Davis

Stephen Davis
I owe this hobby/career to the one and only Stephanie Peterman who, while interning at Fox, told me that I had too many opinions and irrelevant information to keep it all bottled up inside. I survived my first rated R film, Alive, at the ripe age of 8, it took me months to grasp the fact that Julia Roberts actually died at the end of Steel Magnolias, and I might be the only person alive who actually enjoyed Sorority Row…for its comedic value of course. While my friends can drink you under the table, I can outwatch you when it comes iconic, yet horrid 80s films like Adventures in Babysitting and Troop Beverly Hills. I have no shame when it comes to what I like, and if you have a problem with that, then we’ll settle it on the racquetball court. I see too many movies to actually win any film trivia contest, so don’t waste your first pick on me. My friends rent movies from my bookcase shelves, and one day I do plan to start charging. I long to live in LA, where my movie obsession will actually help me fit in, but for now I am content with my home in Austin. I prefer indies to blockbusters, Longhorns to Sooners and Halloween to Friday the 13th. I miss the classics, as well as John Ritter, and I hope to one day sit down and interview the amazing Kate Winslet.

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