"Solos" is an anthology series that arrived on Amazon Prime in 2021. Though the stories are mostly unconnected, there is occasionally some connective tissue between aspects of the stories. They are all related to periods of isolation though and the lengths that some people will go to to avoid, or locate, it.
Directed by Zack Braff, the first episode sees Anne Hathaway play a physicist trying to unlock the secrets of time travel, but unwilling to open up about the reasons why. I liked this one. The story was emotional, but with a science fiction twist. Hathaway's performance is really good.
The second sees Anthony Mackie play a dying man, who purchases a clone of himself and the pair discuss the finer points of his life, in preparation for the clone taking over. I enjoyed this one less than the first episode, though Mackie's performance is really strong - there was less to the story.
The third is directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson and sees Helen Mirren play the aging daughter of Anthony Mackie's character from the last episode. Looking for one final adventure, she volunteers for a one-way mission, heading through space with no specific destination and recounting aspects of her life to the on-board computer, voiced by Dan Stevens. Again, from a story standpoint there isn't much to it, but in terms of performance it's top notch.
The fourth saw Uzo Aduba play a woman who had spent twenty years locked inside her safe smart home, since the outbreak of a virus. The house's virtual assistant tries to convince her to leave, but she doesn't accept the motivations. Uzo Aduba's performance was excellent, but again, there wasn't much from the story side of the episode.
The fifth sees Jenny, played by Constance Wu monologing to an unseen audience about a story from her life whilst she waits for . . something to happen. This is, for me, the best one so far. The bold central performance is perhaps expected now, but there's something so vulnerable about this one and it was actually coupled to a story that built to something. One that took the time to layer in it's plot and provide a payoff.
The sixth sees Nicole Beharie play Nera, who is undertaking a fertility procedure which leads to her having a son who ages prematurely. I'm confused a bit by this one, as not only does it seem to break the premise of the series, given than Beharie has a number of actors to act against but I didn't get what the subtext of the story was. I like the explanation offered by reviewer bakerstreetdozen but I didn't pick it up from the show itself.
The seventh sees Otto (Dan Stevens) locate Stuart (Morgan Freeman), who suffers from the symptoms of Alzheimers. Otto injects Stuart with a formula that see's his mind repair itself and his memories reform. Though initially staged as an act of kindness, Otto requires something that Stuart has locked away. Again, super performances but in service of a story that wasn't really worthy.
So yes, a definite pattern of excellent performances, even if occasionally the series didn't have stories to match them. Would I watch more if they were forthcoming, I probably would yes, but if that's all we get, then I can't say I'd be too unhappy either.
