Breaking a Monster

With director Luke Meyer and producer Tom Davis in person

Followed by a live performance by the band Unlocking the Truth

Dir. Luke Meyer. 2015, 92 mins. DCP. With Malcolm Brickhouse, Jarad Dawkins, Alec Atkins, Alan Sacks. What’s it like to be the next big thing when you’re not even fully grown? Breaking a Monster begins as the three members of the Brooklyn band Unlocking the Truth are all in the seventh grade. African American boys who atypically spend their weekends playing a blend of heavy metal and speed punk for gawking crowds in Times Square, Malcolm, Jarad, and Alex become sudden Internet sensations thanks to a live video that goes viral. They take on a 70-year-old industry veteran as manager, and with his guidance sign a $1.8 million record deal that puts all kinds of things in motion—festival shows, merchandising, celebrity meet and greets—before they have recorded a single note, and before their voices have dropped to a metal-worthy growl. An entertaining and revelatory behind-the-scenes music documentary for the YouTube generation, as well as a coming-of-age tale that interrogates notions of race, class, and showbiz in the 21st century, Breaking a Monster is an American success story unlike any other. It also seriously rocks. 

Tickets: $15 ($11.25 for members at the Film Lover and MoMI Kids Premium levels / free for Silver Screen members and above). Order tickets online. (Members may contact [email protected] with any questions regarding online reservations.)    



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