Release Date:
04/24/2009
Directed by: Joe Wright
The Skinny: Robert Downey Jr. stars as a Los Angeles newspaper columnist in search of a story, and finds it in a homeless man (Jamie Foxx) who was once a gifted, Julliard-trained cellist.
The Good: At its best, The Soloist resists drowning us in syrup: in the hands of a lesser director, the movie would have been nothing but cheesy music crescendo, eyes quivering with tears, and more uplift than a hundred movie mogul trophy wives. But director Wright is plays the audiences heart-strings in a disciplined, and distanced way. Of course, he is buoyed by Downy Jr. and Jamie Foxx, who turns in a surprisingly honest performance, one that is far superior to his showboating Vegas-style impersonation of Ray Charles. So don't buy the marketing of the movie that sells it was another Hollywood heart-warmer about mental illness. Unlike such classics of this sentimental genre like Forrest Gump, Rain Man, or I Am Sam, The Soloist aspires to an uncomfortable truth about those with mental illness—namely, they aren't the wise, affable, man-children who change all those around them. They are, in fact, as tortured and conflicted. The movie subverts the expected thanks to excellent performances, inspired directing, and a screenplay that isn't insultingly condescending to the homeless or the schizophrenic.
The Bad: If you don't want to watch a movie about a reporter desperately trying to save the life of a schizophrenic homeless man, and realizing that not everybody can or should be saved, then don't go and see The Soloist. SPOILER: At no point does Jamie Fox's virutouoso bum leap from an exploding truck and onto a helicopter.
Theater, DVD, or TNT in five years? Movies are expensive, and sometimes it seems the only reason to go to a movie theater is to watch a blockbuster roller coaster, show up tipsy and laugh at a fart fest, or to catch something genuinely controversial. The Soloist is none of these, and its pleasures won't be dampened by waiting for the DVD.
The Skinny: Robert Downey Jr. stars as a Los Angeles newspaper columnist in search of a story, and finds it in a homeless man (Jamie Foxx) who was once a gifted, Julliard-trained cellist.
The Good: At its best, The Soloist resists drowning us in syrup: in the hands of a lesser director, the movie would have been nothing but cheesy music crescendo, eyes quivering with tears, and more uplift than a hundred movie mogul trophy wives. But director Wright is plays the audiences heart-strings in a disciplined, and distanced way. Of course, he is buoyed by Downy Jr. and Jamie Foxx, who turns in a surprisingly honest performance, one that is far superior to his showboating Vegas-style impersonation of Ray Charles. So don't buy the marketing of the movie that sells it was another Hollywood heart-warmer about mental illness. Unlike such classics of this sentimental genre like Forrest Gump, Rain Man, or I Am Sam, The Soloist aspires to an uncomfortable truth about those with mental illness—namely, they aren't the wise, affable, man-children who change all those around them. They are, in fact, as tortured and conflicted. The movie subverts the expected thanks to excellent performances, inspired directing, and a screenplay that isn't insultingly condescending to the homeless or the schizophrenic.
The Bad: If you don't want to watch a movie about a reporter desperately trying to save the life of a schizophrenic homeless man, and realizing that not everybody can or should be saved, then don't go and see The Soloist. SPOILER: At no point does Jamie Fox's virutouoso bum leap from an exploding truck and onto a helicopter.
Theater, DVD, or TNT in five years? Movies are expensive, and sometimes it seems the only reason to go to a movie theater is to watch a blockbuster roller coaster, show up tipsy and laugh at a fart fest, or to catch something genuinely controversial. The Soloist is none of these, and its pleasures won't be dampened by waiting for the DVD.
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