Neon has acquired Reinaldo Marcus Green’s police drama, Monsters and Men after its Sundance Film Fest world premiere, which was well received.
The cast includes “Hamilton” cast members Anthony Ramos and Jasmine Cephas Jones, John David Washington (“Ballers”), Kelvin Harrison Jr. (“It Comes at Night”), Chanté Adams, Nicole Beharie, Rob Morgan, and Cara Buono of “Stranger Things.”
Although not explicitly stated, the plot shows strong similarity with the killing of Eric Graner incident, by which the film was inspired.
The story takes place in Brooklyn where an unarmed black man is killed after an altercation with police officers, leading to a nuanced investigation into a tight-knit neighborhood.
The film tells the stories of three young men, Manny, Dennis and Zyrick.
It begins with Dennis Williams being pulled over by police but let go because he is a cop himself.
The story then switches to Manny Ortega applying for a job, hesitating on the convicted felon section of the application. Manny lives with his family, wife Marisol, mother and daughter. Manny goes out to hang out with some of his friends when a cop rolls up near their dice game.
In an incident very similar to Garner’s death, six police officers attempt to arrest Darius Larson, a friend of Manny’s who sells loose cigarettes outside a small bodega. While it’s unclear what transpires, a cop fires his gun and kills Darius while Manny is recording the incident on his phone.
Producers are Elizabeth Lodge Stepp and Josh Penn of the Department of Motion Pictures, Sight Unseen’s Eddie Vaisman and Julia Lebedev, and Luca Borghese.
The film was executive produced by Sight Unseen’s Leonid Lebedev and Oren Moverman, Chiara Bernasconi, Charles Miller, and the Department of Motion Pictures’ Noah Stahl. Sight Unseen fully financed the film.
