Monolith review.
An otherworldly mystery overtakes the life of a disgraced journalist. A one woman show that often feels bigger than it is.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Monolith
Directed by Matt Vesely
Written by Lucy Campbell
Starring Lily Sullivan
Monolith Review
Strangely…we’ve seen the “one person in a room talking to people for their show” movie once already this year. I don’t know if it will reach the number of “man stuck in bathroom” movies…but it is on its way. Like that trilogy of unconnected toilet movies…Monolith and the recent First Time Caller are both quality films. The first rule of film is show, don’t tell. Nevertheless, Monolith chooses the correct format to tell its story to the world. Even if that mystery involves a warning to never ever do that.
A disgraced journalist (Lily Sullivan…credited here as “The Interviewer”) is looking for her comeback story. She hosts a podcast called “Beyond Believable” hoping to uncover something unexplainable. When she falls down a rabbit hole tracking the origin of mysterious black bricks…she finds that she has hit on something much bigger than a hit story.
Monolith doesn’t dive too deeply into The Interviewer’s backstory at first. She maintains her innocence on the story that found her blacklisted…but we see her manipulate audio and lie to someone about recording them…so maybe don’t take her at her word on it. For a movie that only has one character on screen it is surprisingly coy with details.
What the story is focused on, however, is a mystery worthy of its own podcast series. If such a thing wouldn’t spread rampant disease and death. I should explain. The Interviewer is chasing down stories related to black bricks. It doesn’t sound like much…but these are no ordinary bricks. The first sign that something strange is afoot comes straight away. No one can remember…or are unwilling to explain…where these bricks came from. It’s the first mystery presented by a movie spent trying to solve mysteries. This one gets solved in a stunningly unexpected way. Everything is explained eventually. Monolith strings out the mystery well enough to carry the entire movie.
There are many bricks out there. Each with unique markings on the inside. Not one person willing to divulge how it came into their possession. What everyone who talks to The Interviewer can agree on, however, is that the bricks are telling them something horrible is coming. Each recipient of the mystery brick had visions leading up to its arrival.
The Interviewer receives scans and photos of people’s bricks…starting to believe that she is onto something big. Her first episode reaches a large audience. A needed win that comes with a devastating warning. In discussing a similar story from 1988 with the journalist that covered it…The Interviewer learns that even discussing the matter seems to spread illness to those that hear it. A viral disease spread by sound. Not great news for a desperate podcaster with a hit on her hands. Especially when her health starts to take a turn for the worse.
The Interviewer may be the only character we see throughout Monolith…but she’s constantly accompanied by voices of people she’s interviewing. There is some high-quality voice work here. The movie hinges on wanting to follow The Interviewer’s deep dive into the mystery. The script does a fantastic job with that…but the engaging way that the voices tell their personal stories are what makes the movie so compelling. We hear about their visions and how the brick has changed their lives.
Lily Sullivan does the rest. She is tasked with acting alone…all while playing a character that is purposely vague. It’s a tricky performance that Sullivan completely nails. From her reactions within conversations through growing obsession (and illness) …she imbues The Interviewer with everything that the page doesn’t. A fully formed character on a full journey without ever leaving the house or even being given a name
She interviews several people throughout Monolith. A German art dealer who collects the bricks. A woman who had her brick stolen by her employer. A woman who received a brick two years earlier. A man who watched the brick eat away at his grandfather for years. There are also conversations with her publisher, father and the journalist who covered this phenomenon before. The movie plays out through these conversations…deepening the mystery of the bricks. Then The Interviewer finds a package on her doorstep and the story changes into something new.
Movies like this aren’t easy to pull off. They require a tight script, excellent voice acting and a fully committed lead performance. Monolith checks every one of those boxes. It has a fascinating mystery that becomes something new in its final act. Hearing the story may be a viral disease…but viewing it is worth the risk.
Scare Value
It’s weird to say that a movie makes the right choice in cutting out everything but an actor and a set…but it’s true of Monolith. Movies are usually about showing. Monolith is big with the telling. But it tells an interesting story within the confines of its one room setting. I don’t think that an investigation that involved travelling to the sites of the bricks would have made it any better. If the story truly is a disease spread through the telling of it…what better way to present it?
3.5/5
Monolith Links
Rent/Buy on VOD from VUDU and Amazon
