The Truly Wild Way Monkey Man Recruited Its Stunt Performers [SXSW 2024]
Dev Patel's directorial debut, "Monkey Man," is an ambitious endeavor that centers on no-holds-barred action amidst a complex political backdrop set in present-day India. Judging from the trailer that was released for the film (which you can watch here, it looks cool as hell), Patel plays a nameless man referred to as "Kid," who is inspired by Hanuman, the half-human, half-ape deity in the Hindu epic, "Ramayana," which eventually leads him to take up the moniker of "monkey man." Driven by retribution and the need to balance the scales of justice after experiencing trauma for years — including being a victim of social and political ills that are closely connected to status, class, and caste — Kid walks down a brutally uncompromising path with no point of return.
After the film's global premiere at SXSW 2024 in Austin, Texas, "Monkey Man" received mostly positive responses, which includes /Film's Jacob Hall rating it an 8 out of 10. The overwhelming consensus is that the film's action sequences are expertly crafted, where it sincerely wears its influences on its sleeve and employs the punches in fluid, brutal, and emotionally charged ways. Patel talked about "Monkey Man" during its SXSW premiere that was attended by /Film's Ryan Scott, where the actor opened up regarding the "catastrophe" he faced while shooting in different locations, and how a last-minute decision to incorporate stunt performers into the filming and production process greatly benefited the action-thriller.
Despite dealing with obstacles during filming, Patel persevered, ensuring the cameras kept rolling even after he suffered a broken bone. This brand of dedication is reflected in what Patel revealed about recruiting various stunt performers when unfortunate practical problems interfered with the making of the film.
Stunt performers saved the day on the set of Monkey Man
Although "Monkey Man" is mostly set in Mumbai, Patel and his crew had to travel to other locations and were eager to work with "this amazing Hollywood stunt team," but closed borders due to the pandemic meant that they had to improvise on the spot:
"We faced catastrophe every day. From starting in India and then going to Indonesia, we were originally going to have this amazing Hollywood stunt team, and then the borders closed. So I was like, 'S***, what do we do?' We went on YouTube and started looking at videos, and we found [fight coordinator and actor] Brahim [Chab]. He was in Thailand and that border was still open, so we were like, 'Hey man, can you come, like, tomorrow?' And he was like 'OK!' And he came down with a couple of his guys ... and Brahim was great."
Apart from Brahim Chab and his team becoming an integral part of the stunt process, Patel also recruited stunt performer Stephen Renney to utilize his camera-operating skills during the action-centered sequences to make the best out of the situation:
"Then he had a guy shooting on a little camera some pre-vis's in the stunt room. Now I'm spending really early mornings training with these guys before I go into all these production meetings and I was like, 'Wow, this guy Stephen [Renney] is really interesting because he's a stuntman holding a camera. I've got this idea: Let's get Stephen to start being one of the operators in the action sequences."
Well, it's clear that "Monkey Man" is a labor of love, making it likely that this sentiment will massively pay off after the film hits theaters on April 5, 2024.