The joy of science fiction is taking the possibilities of what science has to offer and the current state of society and walk it down the road a bit…or a couple of light-years. This can be said of practically every serious attempt at making films in the sci-fi genre. Solitary is writer/director Luke Armstrong’s impressive entry into this not-so-distant world.
Solitary opens twenty-years in the future. The Earth is dying as its resources are rapidly depleting, thanks to overpopulation. Our protagonist Isaac (Johnny Sachon), awakens from a long sleep on a shuttle as it drifts away from a massive mothership. Also, on the shuttle with Isaac is a stranger, Alana (Lottie Tolhurst). As the two gain their bearings and peering outside the porthole, the two witness the mothership exploding in what Alana describes as beautiful.
“…it’s not like they’ve never put their criminals on a ship and sent them to God-knows-where…right?”
Like most science fiction stories, we are presented with a mystery that slowly reveals itself throughout the film. The only thing we know about Isaac is that he was involved in a crime and convicted of murder. We know he’s on the shuttle against his will for his crimes. Regarding Alana, we don’t know anything about her.
Without spoiling too much, we learn the spaceship that blew up was a prison ship, and our two passengers, amongst others, were sent/banished to populate another planet. Solitary is a British film, so it’s not like they’ve never put their criminals on a ship and sent them to God-knows-where…right?
"…feels very much like an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation."
