When 17 year old student Steve Harmon gets caught up being at the scene of a murder and arrested for this, his whole world is about to come crashing down around him. An aspiring filmmaker who has a very bright future.
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Monster had the potential to be incredible but ended up more average in the long run. I actually found it rather impressive that it kept us guessing on Steve's actions until more towards the end of the film wondering what (if anything) he had done in the build up to the murder of an innocent man. We see him really struggling to cope when in prison and fully feeling out of place wanting nothing more than to be behind his cameras again.
His parents were very supportive and also very confused on the night that he was taken away on the suspicion of murder. Everything about his life was good and pretty normal, but that was very easily taken away by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Especially because of the colour of his skin, showing that it is not easy at all for black teens, the assumption that they are all pretty much in gangs and therefore instantly guilty.
Kelvin Harrison Jr is an actor who I have heard a lot of buzz around the past year or so and this film really does help to highlight exactly why that is the case. No complaints about the praise he has been receiving for his performances. He leads this film very well and that was very important for the narrative.
In terms of supporting actors cannot really complain when you have John David Washington, Jennifer Hudson and Jeffrey Wright all in small/supporting roles. Although personally I would have liked to have seen more of them, which I am sure people will absolutely agree with. ASAP Rocky was also decent in a supporting role as well. I felt more supporting to Harrison Jr could have helped push the film to another level showing how his arrest had impacted his family more was an aspect that I would have liked to have seen more than just in the courtroom scenes.
