B. Monkey (1998)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Michael Radford

Writers:

Andrew Davies (novel)
Chloe King (writer)

Release Date:

15 July 1999 (Germany)

Genre:

Crime | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Trouble never looked so good

Plot:

Alan Furnace is a young man with the perfectly proper, quiet life of a London school teacher. But beneath...

Plot Keywords:

London | Paris | Breasts | Strong Language | Armed Robbery

Cast

Asia Argento	...	Beatrice
Jared Harris	...	Alan Furnace
Rupert Everett	...	Paul Neville
Jonathan Rhys Meyers	...	Bruno
Julie T. Wallace	...	Mrs. Sturge
Ian Hart	...	Steve Davis
Tim Woodward	...	Frank Rice
Bryan Pringle	...	Goodchild
Clare Higgins	...	Ms. Cherry
Simone Bowkett	...	Angie
Marc Warren	...	Terence
Camilo Gallardo	...	Barman (Conrans)
Michael Carlin	...	Carlo
Paul Ireland	...	Barman (Kings Head)
Elizabeth Ash	...	Nurse (as Elisabeth Ash)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality and language, and for violence and drug content.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Italian | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 (DVD) | Argentina:16 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:AL | Portugal:M/16 (video premiere) | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | Singapore:R21 (re-rating) (uncut) | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Ealing Studios, Ealing, London, England, UK

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

Michael Caton-Jones was the original director for the film but left over creative differences.

Quotes:

Alan Furnace: You know, this doesn't actually look like me. Underneath there's a...
Beatrice: ...a prince?
Alan Furnace: No, just a good-looking frog.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in When Brendan Met Trudy (2000)

Soundtrack:

CHINESE BURN

A vision of escapism

The first time I saw "B. Monkey" (at the Ghent Film Festival in 1998), I was amazed at how many people had come to see this action movie starring Asia Argento. Of course it wasn't because of Asia's charismatic performances this movie was so popular, but because it was the latest film by Michael Radford, director of "Il Postino" (together with "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulin" the longest running movie in the last ten years - well, in Antwerp anyway). From "Il Postino" to "B. Monkey" was a weird step and perhaps one of the reasons why "B. Monkey" gets so many negative reviews.

I'm well aware that this movie is a male-oriented vision of escapism, but when the result is a movie like this, one wants to take a lot for granted.

"B. Monkey" was based on a novel by Andrew Davies who has been writing since the late 60s and has penned many scripts for well-known productions such as the script for the "Bridget Jones Diary" and the lesbian BBC drama "Tipping The Velvet". He knows how to tell a story and perhaps this is why, in my opinion, "B. Monkey" is so much better than the usual drama where a delinquent girl meets an honest man and decides to better her life (genders may be changed here). Even though you can predict the big lines of the story, you're still surprised at certain plot changes.

Alan (Wayne Wang favourite Jarid Harris) and Beatrice (Asia 'daughter of Argento) couldn't be further apart: she's a bank-robbing criminal, he teaches poor kids and has a jazz show on hospital radio. Once again something that makes you realize that this movie walks a thin line between good cinema and a third-rate tv's movie of the week. Believable acting by Harris, Argento and, not to forget, Rupert Everett helps the movie to stay on the right part of that thin line.