The new Netflix film Monstro tells the story of a young black man who is accused of a crime that he swears he did not do. The feature includes Anthony Mandler’s film debut, music video for singers Beyoncé, Rihanna and Taylor Swift. The production also includes the song’s other names: the rappers NAS and A $ AP Rocky Act, and the production of John Legend.
The film begins with a monologue of the protagonist, who is involved in the crime of killing a 17-year-old teenager. Steve Harmon (Calvin Harrison Jr.) says, “Monsters don’t cry in the dark. I should see him when he saw us and called us monsters.”
Steve lives in Harlem, a neighborhood marked by African-American influence in New York. The boy’s dream is to become a filmmaker – and, in a way, he achieves his goal in the film, as it tells his story.
Although the feature film begins with the protagonist in prison, the production cuts past and present: Steve’s agony and agony in prison, stressful trials and a good time before crime, innocence with his love and affection with his father.
It is during the trial that the agenda of racism becomes clear, when the prosecutor (Paul Ben-Victor) compares young people to demons. The character has the task of convincing the jury that Steve and James King (A $ AP Rocky) have been convicted.
He continues to demean black teenagers by drowning them in emotion, not using facts or statistics. The numbers and reality are against the accused – although African Americans make up only 13% of the United States population, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, nearly a third of the nation’s prison population is black.
Addressing the protagonist’s anguish and deep inertia, the play also has elements of suspense, leaving it open until the end whether Steve participated in the crime or not.
Watch the subtitle trailer for Monster, now available on Netflix:
