Monster

Why do movies so regularly show the murder suspect going to trial, of all things, nearly immediately after arrest? The average time for this particular situation is two years or so before full trial. Our "hero" would have had several months in jail, not prison, leading up to it. After a conviction he'll do his time in prison. It's that simple, why not hire a competent consultant or listen to their "consulting", you know, what you pay them for?

And a lone detective dressed like a comic book investigator making the arrest? Absolutely laughable!

The gray colored courtroom looked like either a cartoon or Star Trek simulation room, I can't decide which. Ridiculous decision, and yes I get the artistic angle since they were pushing it so hard, but still bad. The narration even mentioned it, referring to justice being black or white, no gray. Then it's pure gray, huh?

Wright, Nelson, and Victor all had excellent performances as expected, rest were meh.

3 out of 5 stars.

Strong plot about a guy who gets accused of robbing and murdering a store clerk. Great performances. But dull and tedious direction that gets boring after a while.

The film is okay, but the lead is superior to it. The cast in general is superb, but the writing is not. Others here have made excellent observations, so I won't spend time on that other than the annoyance of many questions never resolved. I felt this is a case for reasonable doubt all along, yet never addressed in the narrative. It's not a bad film, just not great. I do want to celebrate the lead actor, Kelvin Harrison: a striking and brilliantly talented young actor whose career I will be following closely.

This is an excellent movie. Good script. Skilled -restrained-measured acting but talented cast. The story depicts the nightmare feared by so many parents and kids caught in complicated communities. Watch it.

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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.