Netflix has the reputation for flooding its service with new series and movies at a breakneck pace, with many getting lost in the shuffle. But sometimes, there are genuine diamonds in the rough and there are some films that beg to be seen and not drowned out by the latest season of “Nailed It!” or a new Melissa McCarthy comedy. In May, that film might very well be “Monster.”
READ MORE: Overstylized ‘Monster’ Can’t Hide Film’s Conventional Core [Sundance Review]
As seen in the trailer for “Monster,” the drama focuses on the life of a young Black man in film school. He seems to have his entire life ahead of him with a keen artistic eye and a loving family. But his life is thrown into chaos when he is charged with murder and faces a lifetime in prison.
The film stars Kelvin Harrison Jr., Jennifer Hudson, Jeffrey Wright, Jharrel Jerome, Jennifer Ehle, Rakim Mayers, Nasir ‘Nas’ Jones, Tim Blake Nelson, and John David Washington. “Monster” is the directorial debut from Anthony Mandler. And if you’re wondering how a directorial debut is able to land such an amazing cast, Mandler is probably best known for his decades of music videos for folks like Jennifer Hudson, Rhianna, Jay-Z, Taylor Swift, Drake, and more. This is a guy that clearly has connections with some massive names.
“Monster” actually debuted more than three years ago as part of the Sundance Film Festival. Our review wasn’t a complete rave, but we did praise Harrison’s performance and said, “His expressive eyes can tell a story all by themselves. This is an instinctive, sensitively rendered turn filled with the subtlest of physical details. He’s the eyes and ears through which we see ‘Monster’ unfold.”
“Monster” arrives on Netflix on May 7. You can watch the trailer below.
Here’s the synopsis:
Monster tells the story of Steve Harmon (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.) a seventeen-year-old honor student whose world comes crashing down around him when he is charged with felony murder. The film follows his dramatic journey from a smart, likeable film student from Harlem attending an elite high school through a complex legal battle that could leave him spending the rest of his life in prison.
