Movie Review #7 The Soloist

The Soloist (2009) Robert Downey Jr. Jamie Foxx Directed by Joe Wright

The Soloist is directed by Joe Wright, who previously tackled Atonement, and Pride and Prejudice. For this movie he examines a true life story about a columnist(Downey Jr.) who works in L.A. and befriends a musically gifted homeless man (Foxx). The acting is terrific which is business as usual with these two talented actors. Downey Jr. who plays Steve Lopez would be watchable reading the phonebook, and it's worth noting that on a day when I saw "America's favorite" Tom Hanks in Angels & Demons, he was outdone by a maturing Robert Downey Jr. who is experiencing a renaissance that is much deserved. You get the feeling that that the character Steve Lopez and the man Downey Jr. have been through a lot and just want to see something good now. Foxx who is very undervalued as an entertainer plays Nathaniel Ayers, a homeless man who suffers from a mental disorder, and use to be a student at Julliard. He wanders the streets playing music on his two string violin until he encounters Steve, who attempts to help him get his life in order. I was made aware that many of the scenes in the film that involve homeless characters are actually homeless people from the L.A. area. I think that stands out in this film, and I think it makes it work better. Some of the best moments in this feature come when the very real life style is addressed into in detail (how and where the homeless sleep and wash, etc...). The storyline is more realistic than most movies of this nature, which I found refreshing. But there is something lacking, you won't find yourself becoming as emotionally attached to these two guys as you may have liked. I think that is because of the realism this movie appears to hold. It is sort of ass-backwards when you complain about something Hollywood does (make everything work in a film), then when it decides to not do it, you miss the fairy tale (can't it all just work out). We have seen movies that tell the truth before and we have seen characters leave the screen before everything is resolved...and honestly though we may not feel as good in our hearts as we would like, we hopefully will continue to see this real way of looking at life on screen. This film is a nice piece of work by a director I will now be looking out for. It gets a very commendable 7.0 memorable Morgan Freeman lines from Shawshank (as always out of ten), because if Andy Dufrane wasn't allowed to make those bank withdrawals, he might have very well been homeless.

Food for thought: Again it is summer so popcorn and diet coke. Although be aware pork chop sandwich...very underrated, but eat it right away. On a side note, the homeless are often misunderstood, if you have some extra change, or better yet some food, why not give it away...lets not be afraid of these people, lets try to understand.