The aftermath of a police killing of a black man, told through the eyes of the bystander who filmed the act, an African-American police officer and a high-school baseball phenom inspired to take a stand.
Monsters and Men offers neither unalloyed despair nor implausible hope. It's about the way people of color live now, moving through the streets with passion, purpose and one eye on the rear-view mirror.
Green's graceful direction and keen ear for dialogue certainly make him a new filmmaker to watch, and it'll be fascinating to see what he does with a more focused narrative.
John David Washington is at his forceful best in this racially-charged drama from debuting filmmaker Reinaldo Marcus Green that uses the perspective of three persons of color to examine the shooting of an unarmed black man by a white cop,
Both cinematic and literary, this is mature, textured work. Gently prodding at you rather than grabbing you by the throat, it is intentionally unexplosive, but lights a fire nevertheless.
A lesser movie might weave these threads into a narrative that exploits real-world parallels - viral social media, athletes who take a knee, cops who close ranks. "Monsters And Men" doesn't pander or dismiss.
