Monolth Review
Set in what we can only assume is a near future, Monolith chronicles the horrors endured by young mother Sandra (Katrina Bowden). Sandra is a faded pop star, a women who has had it all but given it up to become a mother and wife. When we first meet her it becomes clear that she misses her old life and, despite clearly caring for her son, resents him slightly.
Worried that her husband might be wandering she impulsively decides to surprise him and sets out on a cross-country journey with her young son David in tow. Along the way they encounter traffic and, on the advice of the satellite navigation system, cut through the desert hills. Then through a series of unfortunate events Sandra ends up locked outside the car, with baby David alone on the inside.
Monolth Review
You might be thinking that there’s a simple solution – just break the glass – but Sandra’s car isn’t your standard car, it’s a Monolith. The Monolith is the ultimate safe car, we’re told in the infomercial that starts the film. Features of the Monolith include bullet-proof windows, a mobile app that allows you to remotely control the car and its own intelligent personal assistant called Lilith. Lilith will drive for you, store information for you, and even lock the car down into vault mode, rendering the car impenetrable. It’s this setting that the car ends up stuck in as Sandra looks on in horror.
Monolith clearly plays on every mother’s worst nightmare. Throw in the desert setting and the stakes are ramped even higher. There’s also an odd element of Labyrinth to the tale. Sandra, like Sarah, starts resentful of the baby, but soon regrets her decision when it appears that she’s gotten what she wished for. Monolith also takes a stance on the dangers of young children being pacified with technology. Many youngsters are already pros with tablets, smartphones and the like, and this film can easily be read as a cautionary tale.
Monolth Review
Bowden does an amazing job with Sandra. As a character we instantly warm to her and are fully rooting for her to succeed. Credit too should be given to our child actors (multiple babies play the singular role of Sandra’s child). For children so young, somehow they manage to give exactly the performance that the story requires, we hate to think how long that took to achieve.
Director Ivan Silvestrini shot the film in Utah. The desert setting not only offers an extra threat to our characters, it also brings some stunning visuals. The wide shots especially highlight the beauty of the surroundings. We get to see all the different colours of the rocks and the true expanse of the environment. At the same time we get an idea of just how isolated Sandra and David are from civilisation. The breathtaking scenery is complimented by an airy score. This Italian filmmaker clearly has an eye and ear for the beautiful.
Towards the end however, the plot unfortunately struggles to be believable. As with other films of its type, events spiral into insane territory. You’ll have to suspend belief big time to get through the closing moments.
A strong and troubling concept make Monolith one Hell of an emotional thrill ride. Parents, you’ll want to never put your kids in a car again.
