Long before streaming platforms turned interactive storytelling into a trend, filmmaker Steven Soderbergh was already experimenting with the boundaries between film, television, and technology. Known for his daring range — from the Oscar-winning Traffic to the slick ensemble fun of Ocean’s Eleven — Soderbergh has built a career out of subverting expectations. Whether shooting features on an iPhone or testing nonlinear narratives, he’s always chasing innovation over comfort.
Among his many experiments, HBO’s 2018 miniseries Mosaic remains one of his most audacious — and one of his most overlooked. Initially launched as an interactive mobile app that allowed viewers to “choose” their narrative path, Mosaic was later re-edited into a six-part series starring Sharon Stone, Garrett Hedlund, and Beau Bridges. Though it quietly vanished from the cultural conversation, Mosaic was a radical attempt to merge cinematic storytelling with digital interactivity — a concept years ahead of its time.
“The idea was to hand over control to the viewer,” Soderbergh said in a 2018 interview. “We wanted to see what happens when the audience becomes the editor.”
How ‘Mosaic’ Began: A Mobile Experiment Turned HBO Miniseries?
Following a short-lived “retirement” after Side Effects (2013), Soderbergh returned to directing with renewed creative energy. After success with The Knick on Cinemax, he wanted to challenge how stories could be consumed in the streaming age. The result was Mosaic — an experimental mystery developed with screenwriter Ed Solomon (Men in Black).
Initially conceived as a mobile app for iOS and Android, Mosaic allowed users to explore its murder mystery from multiple characters’ perspectives. Each “chapter” presented new information, flashbacks, and alternate storylines, letting viewers chart their own version of events.
| Format | Platform | Runtime | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interactive Film | iOS/Android app | 7.5 hours | Choose perspectives and narrative order |
| Miniseries (linear edit) | HBO | 6 episodes | Re-edited for traditional viewing |
The project debuted as an app in late 2017 before premiering on HBO in early 2018. Despite its novelty, the series struggled to find an audience — a fate likely caused by the challenge of translating a nonlinear story into conventional TV.
The Story: A Murder Mystery Told from Every Angle
Mosaic centres on Olivia Lake (Sharon Stone), a wealthy children’s author and philanthropist whose sudden death shatters a small mountain town. The narrative splits between two timelines — before and after Olivia’s murder — and alternates between the perspectives of several characters:
- Joel Hurley (Garrett Hedlund), a struggling artist who falls under Olivia’s patronage.
- Eric Neill (Frederick Weller), a con man hired to scam Olivia but who unexpectedly falls in love with her.
- Petra Neill (Jennifer Ferrin), Eric’s sister, who later investigates his wrongful imprisonment.
- Michael O’Connor (James Ransone), Olivia’s jealous neighbor and secret manipulator.
Each thread intersects and overlaps, revealing contradictions and shifting loyalties. The result is a story that feels fluid, subjective, and self-consciously cinematic — a murder mystery that challenges how truth is constructed.
“The central question of Mosaic,” Soderbergh explained, “is not just who killed Olivia Lake — it’s who gets to tell the story of her life.”
The Challenge of Translating Interactivity to Television
While the Mosaic app rewarded viewers for exploration, the HBO cut struggled to replicate that engagement. In its linear form, the series’ awkward editing rhythms and abrupt perspective shifts made it feel uneven. What once felt participatory now seemed disjointed.
Critics were divided. Some hailed the concept as “innovative television,” while others found the execution frustratingly cold. The interactivity that once empowered audiences to piece together the mystery became, in the miniseries format, a passive experience that dulled its spark.
Still, Mosaic’s visual style bore all the hallmarks of Soderbergh’s best work — meticulous framing, natural lighting, and moody colour palettes. Shot entirely on an iPhone, the series achieved an immediacy and intimacy rare for prestige television.
| Critique | Impact on Series |
|---|---|
| Nonlinear origins | Created pacing inconsistencies |
| iPhone cinematography | Enhanced realism and immediacy |
| Lack of interactivity on HBO | Reduced viewer immersion |
| Sharon Stone’s performance | Anchored the project emotionally |
Even with its flaws, Mosaic offered a glimpse into Soderbergh’s restless creativity — a director uninterested in formulas, forever chasing the next frontier of cinematic expression.
Sharon Stone Shines in a Career-Defining Role
At the centre of Mosaic’s icy labyrinth lies Sharon Stone, giving one of her most nuanced performances in years. As Olivia Lake, she exudes glamour, melancholy, and vanity — a woman adored and exploited in equal measure.
Her character’s contradictions drive the narrative: Olivia is both victim and instigator, benevolent and manipulative. Stone plays her with heartbreaking precision, embodying Soderbergh’s fascination with flawed human beings caught in systems of control.
“Olivia is a prism,” Stone told Variety. “Everyone sees what they want in her — that’s what makes her dangerous and tragic.”
Her performance anchors the story’s moral ambiguity, ensuring Mosaic never feels like a simple whodunit but a meditation on identity, perception, and storytelling itself.
Soderbergh’s Visual and Narrative Experimentation
Soderbergh’s decision to shoot Mosaic on an iPhone wasn’t just a gimmick — it was a statement. The approach allowed him to move freely, capturing intimate details without the intrusion of large camera rigs. The result is a visual texture that mirrors the show’s thematic DNA: technology as both tool and trap.
The handheld aesthetic gives Mosaic a voyeuristic quality, echoing the way we experience stories through digital screens. Combined with muted performances and a cool, desaturated color palette, the series feels like an emotional puzzle under glass.
| Filmmaking Technique | Purpose |
|---|---|
| iPhone cinematography | Enhances mobility and realism |
| Muted color palette | Reflects emotional detachment |
| Nonlinear editing | Simulates viewer interactivity |
| Close-up-heavy framing | Mimics smartphone viewing experience |
This formal daring places Mosaic alongside Soderbergh’s other experiments like Unsane (2018) and High Flying Bird (2019) — films that explore how digital storytelling reshapes narrative intimacy and audience engagement.
Why ‘Mosaic’ Deserves a Second Look?
Despite its quiet release and modest reception, Mosaic feels increasingly prescient in hindsight. Its blending of television and interactivity foreshadowed later experiments like Netflix’s Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and Kaleidoscope.
In many ways, Mosaic’s failure to resonate commercially underscores its artistic success. It dared to treat viewers not as passive consumers but as collaborators in storytelling — a philosophy now central to the evolution of streaming media.
As film critic Emily St. James noted, “Soderbergh wasn’t chasing trends — he was inventing them.”
The Legacy of Soderbergh’s Experiment
Soderbergh’s creative philosophy is one of constant reinvention. Mosaic may not have captured the public imagination, but it reflects his lifelong pursuit of risk over repetition. Whether directing glossy heist movies or self-financed indies, he refuses to stagnate.
His more recent projects, like Full Circle (2023) and Presence (2025), continue this pattern — genre frameworks reimagined through formal innovation. Viewed in retrospect, Mosaic sits at the center of this artistic continuum, a vital experiment bridging Soderbergh’s television and cinematic identities.
“I like to think of Mosaic as a conversation with the future,” Soderbergh once said. “It’s not about getting it right — it’s about asking what storytelling could be next.”
Conclusion
In the ever-growing landscape of streaming content, few projects have pushed boundaries as boldly as Mosaic. It wasn’t perfect — nor was it meant to be. Instead, it was a blueprint for a new kind of storytelling that blurred the line between filmmaker and audience, film and app, narrative and navigation.
Though largely forgotten, Mosaic stands as one of Steven Soderbergh’s most important experiments, a project that anticipated how audiences would one day crave more control over what they watch. For those who missed it the first time, it’s worth another look — not just as a mystery to solve, but as a mystery about storytelling itself.
FAQs
It’s a murder mystery centred on the death of Olivia Lake (Sharon Stone), told through intersecting timelines and character perspectives.
First as an interactive app where viewers could choose their narrative path, and later as a six-episode HBO miniseries.
Steven Soderbergh wanted flexibility and immediacy, embracing the intimacy of small-scale digital cinematography.
Its experimental structure and hybrid release format made it difficult to market and categorize, overshadowed by Soderbergh’s larger works.
While not narratively linked, all three share Soderbergh’s visual style and thematic interest in moral ambiguity and systemic corruption.
