“Solos” — now playing on Amazon Prime (created by Dan Weil) — is an
anthology series that dares to push the art of the monologue to its absolute limit, told in 7 self-staged chapters.
These monologues are so well constructed they demand you to listen, and this (again) requires skill and a well-tuned ear for the way people talk and think. They are so well constructed that they follow (for the most part) the heroes’ journey meaning they possess their arc with a beginning, middle, and an end.
Most chapters focus on a single performer, except a few that included an advanced AI bot, and a mysteriously aging child, and in the finale, a brilliant turn by actor Morgan Freeman. “Solo” gives space for these eight gifted performers to live in a [very] near future that has advance
technology.
The first two episodes (written by Dan Weil) feature Anthony Mackie and Anne Hathaway, who are communicating with versions of themselves, lamenting their existential dread and the tired, to-the-bone result that’s brought on by dealing with chronic illnesses. The interesting part of this series is that all of the episodes have their sci-fi elements.
Another great talent, Uzo Aduba stars in a pivotal episode as a woman submerged in fear, terrified to leave her perfectly designed safe house,
where she dug in after a pandemic kept everyone locked inside.
And actress Constance Wu lights up a scary feeling waiting room, as a woman in unbearable pain. Stepping closer to the horror genre, actress
Nicole Beharie gets to play around in a world that is a bit more atypical.
The final episode, starring Stevens and Freeman, pushes into the series’ technological reality displaying a link between all of the stories.
In the end “Solos” really tackles issues surrounding memory, which is why each of its characters struggled in the end.
“Solos” is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
