Kelvin Harrison, Jr.

Jeffrey Wright

Jennifer Hudson

Jennifer Ehle

Tim Blake Nelson

John David Washington

A$AP Rocky

Lovie Simone

Jharrel Jerome

Mikey Madison

Paul Ben-Victor

Dorian Missick

Jeremy Dash

Liam Obergfoll

Rege Lewis

Nyleek Moore

Joel Van Liew

Danny Henriquez

Adriana DeGirolami

Jonny Coyne

Roberto Lopez

Amanda Crown

June Ballinger

Kelvin Hale

Willie C. Carpenter

Geisha Otero

Keet Davis

Teresa Avia Lim

Manuel Joaquin Santiago

Alejandro Hernandez

Walter Dean Myers

Tom Fleischman

Samuel Miille

Radha Blank

Philip Stockton

Storm Garner

Ric Schnupp

Rachel Barker

Gaddiel Lopez

Anthony Mandler

John Legend

Daniel Crown

Richard McConnell

Colen C. Wiley

Ali Jazayeri

Jeremy Reed

Jason Cloth

Edward Tyler Nahem

Janece Shaffer

Nikki Silver

Andrew Pollack

Dale Wells

Sander Shalinsky

Avy Kaufman

Joe Klotz

Heidi Pakdel

Joseph Ingrassia

Ty Stiklorius

David Devlin

Gonzalo Cordoba

Aaron L. Gilbert

Mobolaji Dawodu

David Gendron

Mike Jackson

Melanie Harris

Jerry Stein

Tonya Lewis Lee

Harvey Mason Jr.

Joe Fugallo

Crime

Drama

Monster

Bron Studios

Red Crown Productions

Get Lifted Film Co.

Creative Wealth Media Finance

Tonik Productions

Charlevoix Entertainment

Canada

United States of America

Manuel São Bento

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I've written this a thousand times, but I'll repeat it once again: I absolutely love one-location movies. I don't know exactly if most of Monster is actually developed inside the courtroom, but it genuinely feels like it. In fact, I believe every scene outside this place is told through extended flashbacks with narration from Steve Harmon about what happened before and on the day of the crime. Since the protagonist is a film student, his voice-over contains descriptions often seen in screenplays, which it's pleasant at first, but then gets overdone.

The trial is definitely the most captivating part of the story. Anthony Mandler and his team of writers demonstrate perfectly some real-life aspects of how the law works. From the well-known emotional disconnect of (some) lawyers with their clients to the prejudiced treatment of people of color, the courtroom sequences keep the movie interesting until its somewhat predictable, unsurprising conclusion. However, despite the exceptional performances from everyone involved, especially Kelvin Harrison Jr., the case itself wraps up with unanswered questions and some messages lost in the transmission.

While the viewers spend the entire runtime following Steve being a good son, brother, and friend, the other Black characters being accused don't receive the same treatment. At one point in the film, someone says "you must consider him innocent until evidence proves him guilty", but this only applies to the protagonist since everyone else is presumed to be guilty from the get-go without the audience ever seeing or hearing their point of view or knowing why they committed that crime. Furthermore, even though the viewers get to know the verdict, Steve's true impact on the murder remains questionable due to the last couple of flashbacks, which begs the question: "are we really supposed to root for him?"

Rating: C.

English

Monster | Official Trailer | Netflix