With his directorial debut Monkey Man, which he also co-wrote and stars in, Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire, Lion) cements himself both as an action star with A-list ambitions and a competent, resourceful B-movie director. This extravagantly violent and exuberantly messy revenge flick is set in a contemporary India (in a fictional city called Yatana) in which there seems to be a neon-drenched, sleaze-sodden brothel to suit every budget. It’s a place where power and money pollute, and where the poor are not just invisible, they are regarded as being less than human and little more than animals.
