With The Soloist, Robert Downey, Jr. and Jamie Foxx prove their mettle as actors. If you’re looking for a film that ties everything up in a neat little bow, you might want to look elsewhere. Sometimes problems are not easily solved and the same could be said about the homeless problem in Los Angeles.
Steve Lopez (Robert Downey, Jr.) is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. He’s recently suffered a fall off his bike and uses the experience for his column. On returning to work he’s assigned a story by his editor Mary Weston (Catherine Keener) who also happens to be his ex-wife.
He flatly refuses to write about his assigned topic and goes in search of an interesting story. He’s clearing his mind in a L.A. park when he hears violin music. He wanders over to find homeless man Nathaniel Ayers, Jr. (Jamie Foxx) playing the instrument - which is missing two strings.
Ayers mentions attending the prestigious music school Julliard. At first it appears that Ayers is just making up attending the school, but it’s discovered that he attended the school and dropped out in his second year.
Lopez writes a column about Ayers and an elderly reader is so inspired by it that she sends Lopez her beloved cello - Ayers’ preferred instrument. Fame and recognition begin to pile up for Ayers and Lopez, but Ayers’ schizophrenia threatens to have the house of cards cave in upon itself.
The Soloist is based on a true story and Ayers and Lopez are real people. There are also a great many more who suffer the trials and tribulations of homelessness in Los Angeles and the film also brings light to their plights. Ayers’ tale is just one of many in the city of angels.
Lopez was able to shine a light on the prodigy who was crippled by schizophrenia, but that same disease also threatened to take away all of the good things that Lopez’s exposure brought to him.
The film is an excellent one and the praise goes to both Downey and Foxx in their performances. Both are portrayed as flawed, Lopez in his personal life and Ayers in his mental illness.
My wife had worked in the healthcare industry and was very impressed with Foxx’s portrayal of schizophrenia. The voices in Ayer’s head are only tempered with the music of Beethoven and there’s a fantastic scene as he plays and two pigeons fly over urban scenery in L.A.
It’s not all such stylized scenery as we’re also exposed to the seamy underbelly and plight of the city’s homeless population. In the end it’s the performances of both Downey and Foxx that move the film along and they’re both fabulous in their roles, though I’d give the upper hand to Foxx.
The Soloist is presented in a 1080p high definition transfer (2.40:1). Special features include a commentary from director Joe Wright. The remainder of the special features is presented in high definition unless noted. First up is the 19 minute “Unlikely Friendship” about making the film.
The 5 minute “Kindness, Courtesy, and Respect” interviews the real Ayers and Lopez. The 9 minute “One Size Does not Fit All” is about the homeless situation in L.A and the 4 minute “Juilliard: The Education of Nathaniel Ayers” is about Ayers schooling and the fame of the articles.
The 2 minute “Beth’s Story” is an animated PSA about the homeless. There’s also the 2 minute theatrical trailer. Finally you get 10 minutes of deleted scenes, in standard definition.
The Soloist offers us some hard questions that the film doesn’t offer any easy answers to. The performances and music does offer some uplift, but the plight of the homeless is not something that makes for an uplifting story.
The Soloist [Blu-ray] is now available at Amazon . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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