In Netflix’s ‘Monster,’ a Young Black Man Fights for Justice

Sandra Miska

A Black teen with a promising future finds himself in a wave of legal trouble in the Netflix drama “Monster.” Kelvin Harrison Jr. gives a strong performance as Steve Harmon, a college-bound high school junior from a middle-class New York family who gets caught in a waking nightmare after he is arrested. It’s a very thought-provoking story, and those watching will no doubt think back to their own teen years, about all the times they found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time and/or susceptible to peer pressure.

The film starts with Steve already in jail awaiting trial, and flashbacks show his life before, when he was just a normal teen living with his parents (Jeffrey Wright, Jennifer Hudson) and his little brother (Nyleek Moore). An aspiring filmmaker, he spends time filming at the local basketball court after school, and it is there that he finds an intriguing subject in William King (Rakim “A$AP Rocky” Mayers), a flashy young basketball player who loves the camera. King introduces him to his cousin, gang member Bobo (John David Washington), and it is on a fateful afternoon after school that Steve runs into the pair as they’re about to do an armed robbery of a local bodega. The man behind the counter ends up dead, and security camera footage showing Steve outside the store leads to his being arrested and charged with being an accessory.

“Monster” is the feature debut of Anthony Mandler, who has had a 20-year career directing music videos for the likes of Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Taylor Swift. During a recent call with Entertainment Voice, he explained how he was attracted to the timelessness of the novel of the same name by Walter Dean Myers upon which the film is based, as it explored injustices and racial biases in the legal system. Mandler was also inspired by his own youth in Los Angeles, during which the gang wars between the Bloods and the Crips were at their height.

“I was always fascinated by these stories of these young kids who ended up in cars with their older brothers while involved in drive-bys, and this concept of trying children as men, and how [the courts] essentially bent the rules. They always said, ‘You’re not an adult until you’re 18, unless we decide you’re an adult because of the crime you committed.’ What that did was unlock this concept –– Could one minute of your life define your life?… Could not knowing what is right or wrong lead to a scenario where someone loses their life? How do we look at that system? I think the big choice in making this movie was I saw the opportunity to tell a nuanced story in a very complicated framework where there was an opportunity to be in the gray.”

Steve’s voice-over lets the viewer into his innermost thoughts. He’s called a “monster” by Anthony Petrocelli (Paul Ben-Victor), the hardline prosecutor. While hyperbole is common in a courtroom, it goes without saying that he probably wouldn’t be saying this about a white defendant with Steve’s background and previously clean record. Steve wonders to himself how he can be a monster and feel the full range of emotions that he feels, including fear. He does find comfort and support from his parents, wise fellow inmate Sunset (Nasir “Nas” Jones), and, perhaps most importantly, his public defender, Mauren O’Brien (Jennifer Ehle). Even though it’s not a requirement for her to believe in his innocence, she does, and she proceeds to fight ferociously for him. But, at the end of the day, it’s up to Steve to defend himself, not just in how he answers on the witness stand, but also in how he conducts himself in front of the jury that will decide his fate.

“Monster” was filmed in 2017 and debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018. Although it’s been a long journey to Netflix, Mandler is grateful that his feature ended up on the streaming platform, as it has exposed it to a wider global audience that it would never have reached with a limited theatrical release. Since it’s Sundance debut, many involved have gone on to make names for themselves with other projects, from co-writer Radha Blank, whose own film “The Forty-Year-Old Version” made a splash on Netflix, to Harrison, who has been in a number of impactful films, including “Luce” and “Waves.” Then there’s Jharrel Jerome, a small but important player here who went on to win an Emmy for “When They See Us,” a remarkable limited series exploring similar themes. And Washington, although he has a movie star father, only had a few adult acting credits when casted, and he went on to star in Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman.” Lovie Simone, who shines as Steve’s love interest, made an impression playing the title role in last year’s “Selah and the Spades.”

There’s no denying that Mandler has great instincts when it comes to casting. “For all intents and purposes, we discovered him,” he said of Harrison. “I think I saw 50 young men… He brought a sensitivity, and he brought a sort of pain, and also these eyes that told me that there was a future, and that future was bright, but maybe it was going to be through some trauma, and the way he could turn on that innocence and mix that with what’s happening to him.”

No doubt the younger actors learned a thing or two from their more seasoned co-stars. “Your life is just very different when you’re working with people, whether they’ve very experienced or new, who have a power, and your job as a director is to help harness that power, and direct and redirect it and push it left and right,” explained Mandler.

Wright is amazing, as always, and Tim Blake Nelson also delivers as Steve’s teacher who serves as a character witness in his trial. Then there’s Hudson, with whom Mandler had an established working relationship going into the filming, as he previously directed two of her music videos.

“She’s incredible,” said Mandler of the actress and singer. “Her power, she holds it in her hand and in her voice, and in her trauma that she’s managed. That’s what the power of the voice is in art. She’s like a bright, shining light in the middle of that trauma she’s been through in her life.”

“Monster” gives the viewer a lot to reflect on, particularly when it comes to the agendas of those in the legal system. Mandler spoke about what most surprised and disgusted him while doing research.

“The thing that was the most surprising for me was the culture of going for maximum [sentences]. That culture is one of the most destructive things we have in our society beyond race and racism, prejudice, three strike rules, felony accessory laws. This culture of prosecutors always going for the maximum, because they believe that that helps them get elected and get social support and power. The truth is, there are people doing ten, 20, 30 years that should have been doing six months, or 18 months, or two years, not to mention people who shouldn’t have been put in there at all.”

“Monster” begins streaming May 7 on Netflix.