Monster (2018)

Directed by: Anthony Mandler | 98 minutes | crime, drama | Actors: ASAP Rocky, John David Washington, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Roberto Lopez, Kelvin Hale, Jennifer Ehle, Paul Ben-Victor, Dorian Missick, Jennifer Hudson, Jeffrey Wright, Tim Blake Nelson,

Young Steve Harmon is doing well. Coming from a decent family, he lives in a brownstone in Harlem, takes film classes at school and has a girlfriend who is as beautiful as she is smart. One day, Steve meets the streetwise James King, who is African-American like him, but from a rougher background. Despite their differences, the boys become friends. Then King is arrested for a robbery that got out of hand. And who is identified as an accomplice? Steve Harmon.

In the American (crime/court/psychological) drama ‘Monster’ we follow this story, based on the novel of the same name by Walter Dean Myers. The film follows two tracks that alternate with each other. The scenes in the present mainly take place in court. The scenes in the past go back not only to the fateful day of the robbery, but also to Steve’s daily activities.

Those tracks are very different from each other. Although the court scenes are not shot in black and white, we mainly see black, white and (especially) gray. These static scenes follow the logical order of the process. The scenes about Steve’s past are colorful and lively, more like a collage. We see a beautiful photo shoot, with his girlfriend on a roof at dusk. We see loving scenes in the domestic circle and the film lectures at his school. Those lectures provide a metal layer, also because Steve provides the scenes about his past with a voice-over, in which he describes the events as a film script.

That voice-over creates some distance, while the collage form sometimes makes the film a bit messy. But that also forgives all negative criticism. Despite some sinking points, the film remains exciting over the full length. Until the end you don’t know exactly what happened on the fateful day, and until the end we wait for the court’s verdict. The star cast, including Jeffrey Wright, Jennifer Ehle, Tim Blake Nelson and Jennifer Hudson, is doing a great job. And then there are the stylish and atmospheric images of New York and the slightly controversial theme (something with guilt and penance).

The stylish and committed ‘Monster’ is therefore well worth the effort, both in terms of content and cinematography. In addition, the film is more in the vein of aesthete Barry Jenkins than of activist Spike Lee. But above all, he is in the corner of above-average good films.