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Director: Joe Wright
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey Jr., Catherine Keener
Studio: DreamWorks SKG

The Plot: In Los Angeles, reporter Steve Lopez (Downey Jr.) befriends Nathaniel Ayers (Foxx), a brilliant but troubled musician and one-time Julliard student who currently lives on Skid Row. In a series of revealing articles, Lopez draws attention to Ayers's remarkable story, while Ayers still dreams of a grand performance at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

In mid-October of last year, Paramount made the decision to push Jamie Foxx and Co. from their movie's Oscar-friendly berth to this new date. Why? Crowded marketplace, I'm assuming (for now, though I'm digging for more info). Reports indicate P'mount might still let the film qualify for Oscars with a quiet, awards-qualifying release at year's end, which, provided some nominations come through, could turn this into a springtime hit. Either way, it should be quite something to watch Atonement director Joe Wright deftly move between time periods in to tell Ayers's remarkable story (get some background here). Bank on top-notch performances from Foxx, Downey Jr., and Keener (who plays Steve Lopez's wife), as well as a layered screenplay from Susannah Grant (Erin Brokovich).




I've read Lopez's columns in the Times for years and followed this one with interest and satisfaction. Making a film about a tale like this restores my belief in Hollywood beyond the mindless bunk it churns out year after year.

Downey Jr and Foxx play a newspaper columnist and homeless man who come together in a most unusual way. Downey is a newspaper columnist looking for something original and interesting to write about it. He finds it when he sees Foxx beautifully playing battered stringed instruments along 3rd street in downtown L.A. Foxx has been there for years but on this day grabs the eye of the columnist because the columnist himself is experiencing hardship and doubt related to his own position. He begins to write about this talented but troubled man who fills the stinky air around him with harmony. They become friends but keep in mind this is not fiction. The friendship hits many bumps that continue to this day. Nathaniel Ayers (Foxx's character) may be a brilliant, educated musician, but he suffers from bouts of schizophrenia that manifest at any time. Downey's character accepts this as it adds more intrigue to his columns. Then he accepts it on a personal level. Their friendship ultimately becomes real and meaningful. You sense that Downey's character needs the friendship even more than Foxx's homeless man does. In the end, Downey's Lopez can see the positive effect his work has brought to the plight of the homeless, yet he wonders personally how much better he has made Nathaniel...? His reflections make us think also.

Downey Jr and Foxx play their characters to near perfection and the film masterfully takes its time in developing the relationship between the two. Great to see director Joe Wright telling a contemporary tale just as effectively as he has in previous works. The film makes us wonder how many other Nathaniel Ayers are lurking out there on the streets? Life being what it is, of course we will never know. The beauty of the film is that is shows what can happen when just one Nathaniel Ayers is found after being lost for so many years. There's no sugarcoating; Ayers doesn't magically get better and rejoin mainstream society. Instead, the mainstream accepts him for what he is and what he offers and begins integrating him as best it can. This film will certainly pop up at award time next year.

Here's the deal: Audiences aren't buying into dramas right now. Comedies, comic book-inspired films, action movies, teen films...those are getting the attention of moviegoers. Anything that makes us forget about what's happening in our world and gets us caught up in a total fantasy experience for a couple of hours is doing well at the box office. So, in this climate, it's not the wisest move to unspool something as serious and thought-provoking as The Soloist. Come on, now is not the time of year we normally see films of this ilk, even when the atmosphere isn't as poisonous to dramatic films as it is currently.

The Soloist is the type of prestige film that would normally come out in October, November or December - the sort of picture that usually garners awards attention and attracts ticket buyers looking to check out supposedly the best of what Hollywood has to offer for the year. Orchestrating a beginning of the summer movie season release for The Soloist doesn't make much sense. It was pushed back from a late 2008 release anyway, so what harm would have come from delaying it a few more months to a more appropriate time of year? I don't get it. Summer's when we want to have fun at the theaters, not get caught up in a sad tale of homelessness, mental illness, and the affect of journalism on society at large. And it's a shame The Soloist may get ignored by moviegoers and critics groups alike as it features a couple of the best performances we're likely to see in all of 2009.

The Story
Based on a true story, The Soloist explores the unusual relationship between Los Angeles Times reporter Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr) and Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx), a homeless, schizophrenic street musician who dresses in wild, psychedelic toss-offs and keeps up a steady stream of conversation decipherable only to his own ears much of the time.

Lopez is looking for a story to fill up his column, and a random encounter with Ayers sets off his writer instincts and sets his brain to pinging with ideas. Ayers tells Lopez during their first meeting that he attended Juilliard, and the way he plays his violin (which has but two strings left on it) makes that pronouncement seem a possibility. Lopez checks up on him and finds out that in fact Ayers did attend the prestigious school for a couple of years before dropping out.
As Lopez gets to know Ayers - as much as anyone can know a stranger with severe mental problems who's not being treated for his disease - he discovers an incredible musician still exists inside the man who 99.9% of the population would go out of their way to avoid eye contact with. What started as the idea for one column turns into a life-changing relationship from which both men benefit, though in vastly different ways.


The Cast
Is proclaiming Robert Downey Jr one of the best actors of his generation pushing it? Check out The Soloist and tell me Downey Jr isn't at the top of his game as a newspaper reporter who uses Ayers to get a story before finding himself unintentionally becoming the most stable friend the tortured Ayers had during his years on the streets. It's mostly through Downey Jr's eyes that we follow the story, listening in while he dictates what he's learned dealing with Ayers into his tape recorder before writing up his articles for the LA Times. Downey Jr thoroughly and absolutely becomes this veteran journalist who gets too close to his subject and finds himself caught up in Ayers' life to point where an actual friendship has formed.
Jamie Foxx delivers yet another poignant performance as he tackles what just had to be the most difficult role of his career. Whether speaking at a manic pace as Ayers' mind trips out on him or altering everything about his being when Ayers shows moments of near lucidity, Foxx never, ever turns his portrayal of Ayers into a caricature of a mentally unbalanced man.

The Bottom Line
Director Joe Wright chose The Soloist as his first American film after having earned high praise for his work helming Pride and Prejudice and Atonement. And Wright appears to have been the right choice for this tricky film. He handles the scenes of homeless people and the mentally ill living hard lives on the streets without sugar-coating his subject matter. Wright's made an honest, unflinching film that's uncomfortable to watch at times, a pure joy to behold at others, and overall as faithful to its source material as possible while still being cinematically entertaining. I'm hoping audiences will give it a chance, despite the bad release date and somber subject matter.