The Soloist (review)

Rating: 3/5 Worth watching

Failing with the tear-jerker formula?

If you've seen the trailers you know exactly what this movie looks like. A down on his luck reporter finds a prodigy living on the street. Helping this man not only gives him a story but gives him a desire to change his own world. By the end of the film we've cried and everyone is happy. The setup is always a little different but we've all seen it before.

I watched it and enjoyed the story but it just felt like it was missing something. It never has that moment where it grabs you. This is not because of the performances, both of which hit the high mark we have come to expect from these two actors recent work. It's not because of poor pacing or errors in the story-telling. The movie is easy to follow and paced well. The movie handles schizophrenia very understandingly, avoiding an over dramatized freak out feel.

The story is based on a book (The Soloist) that collects the articles that Steve Lopez (a well known columnist for the L.A. Times) wrote about helping the real Nathaniel Ayers. Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) finds Ayers (Jamie Foxx) playing beautifully in the park on a violin that only has two strings. He quickly learns that Ayers attended Julliard for a time and is schizophrenic. Lopez then begins a process of trying to help Ayers off the street and out of his mental illness. Through the process these two characters become friends and Lopez is forced to see the world of homelessness and mental illness firsthand.

That's where this movie really hits the mark. Showing the value of friendship and how it changes two individuals regardless of if it changes their circumstances. It also gives us a realistic and un-dramatized view of mental illness and homelessness. We all share this world and sometimes it's easy to forget that some people don't need handouts, just friends. So while The Soloist didn't make me cry, I do not feel it failed in making me look at things a little differently. I think that's what they were going for and in so doing they succeed.


The Soloist at IMDB
117 Minutes
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, some drug use and language.

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