he will tear your city down.

Something I appreciate about Monkey Man is how doesn't try to frame revenge as just a pointlessly violent, self-destructive pursuit the way many films do. I think it's because Dev Patel was unafraid of adding a political element to the story. The kid wants to avenge his mother, but he also doesn't want what happened to them to keep happening to others. The presence of the hijras really drives this idea home. They fight with him not only because he's their friend, but because Baba and the nationalist party will bring violence literally to their door even if they don't fight back. I often roll my eyes at anti-revenge narratives. I think Dev Patel gets what it's like to be a victim of systematic violence in a way most filmmakers seem not to. Revenge isn't just a selfish pursuit that perpetuates the ~cycle of violence~, it can also be a desperate desire for the violence to end.