Monolith
Australian science fiction/mystery Monolith finds a young reporter (Lily Sullivan) trying to revive her career as a journalist after not checking her sources on a controversial article. She has an opportunity to start a podcast but suffers from creative block — until, that is, she receives an email from an anonymous source that hints at a particular woman and a brick. The podcaster follows up on the mysterious message and finds herself going further and further down a rabbit hole, and revealing any more of the plot would be doing director Matt Vesely’s film a great disservice. Vesely, working from a marvelous screenplay by Lucy Campbell, masterfully builds the intensity, with Sullivan giving a first-rate performance. Sullivan is, with soem small exception, the only actor viewers see — other performers provide solid voice acting — and she carries the film wonderfully. Go in to Monolith as cold as possible and be prepared for a slow-burn mystery designed to keep viewers riveted to the screen.
Accused
Director Philip Barantini’s tense U.K. thriller Accused expertly addresses the issues of trial by social media and the ensuing witch hunts that can occur. It also tackles racism and other social issues as a young man named Harri (Chaneil Kular) leaves his girlfriend Chloe (Lauryn Ajufo) behind in London as he travels to the country to take care of the family dog while his parents go on a trip. Soon after leaving the train station, Harri and other passengers receive the news that the station was bombed soon after they left. Initially grateful that he was not one of the victims of the bombing, which claimed lives and caused injuries, Harri soon finds himself the online target of a “Find and punish the bomber!” group, with racially motivated vigilantes determined to seek their own brand of justice. Kular gives a superb performance as the initially confused and soon enough desperate Harri. Barantini, working from a taut screenplay by Barnaby Boulton and James Cummings, helms with aplomb, ratcheting up the fingernail-chewing suspense at a steady clip while putting the protagonist through the wringer. The dangers of Accused are realistic ones — the Boston Marathon Bombings of 2013 also found online wannabe sleuths targeting innocent people — which makes the terror on display in the film all the more frightening.
MONOLITH and ACCUSED screened as part of Overlook Film Festival, which took place June 2–5, 2022 in New Orleans.
