Hovering Over Heartache in Monarch City
Monarch City (2025)
Directed by Titus Richard
Starring Paul Eenhoorn, Liisa Kaufman, Lavender Hamilton and Mahria Zook
As seen at the 51st annual Seattle International Film Festival
The first feature-length film from Titus Richard is a meandering melodrama that offers little exposition. Think the near-documentary realism of Sean Baker in Starlet (2012) and Tangerine (2015), mixed with the tone-poem style of Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life (2011) and Knight of Cups (2015). For fans of Baker and Malick, Monarch City will be a satisfying journey of pain and discovery. For most filmgoers, it may feel like another example of form over function—one that demands a bit too much contemplation.
In an era when people spend more time choosing what to stream than actually streaming anything, many may lack the appetite for sitting in the uncomfortable silence of teen angst. Or watching the prolonged, pondering stare of a despondent drug addict. Or listening to the hopes and dreams of a wide-eyed rapper ready to take over the world.
Anyone who takes the time to watch Monarch City gets the rare opportunity to hover like a spirit over the lives of half a dozen people stuck in a small Washington state town. While hovering, you hear the nonsensical ramblings of teenagers stumbling through a life of poverty and hopelessness. You’ll also hear a variety of loud, multi-genre songs that often interrupt those ramblings mid-thought. Quick edits are juxtaposed with long, wandering takes, adding to the overall disorientation. With no backstory explanations and many one-sided conversations, by the time I started to figure out who was who in this small town—the film was over.
Monarch City reminds me of another film that had its world premiere at SIFF: Warm Blood by Rick Charnoski, back in 2022. Both films took the better part of a decade to make, and both were written, shot and edited by first-time feature filmmakers with decades of experience in shorts and music videos. I personally enjoyed both and look forward to future efforts from each director. But I have a feeling it will take a few more Oscar wins for Sean Baker—and maybe a new Malick film or two—before the zeitgeist aligns with films like Monarch City.