The Soloist
The "Inspirational True Story" (sorry I'm not tech savvy enough to give that phrase the glowing, golden, 48-point type appearance that would be appropriate) is one of the classic Hollywood staples. The story of a real person who went through enormous obstacles and came out on top is usually put through the same processing machine so it comes out like all the others: generically bland and uplifting, and not having a whole lot to do with real life. "The Soloist" isn't COMPLETELY free of some of the usual pitfalls of the genre, but the few that plague it are truly minor compared to what it gets right. By and large, this is the real deal.
Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez (Robert Downey, Jr.) encounters a homeless, mentally ill street musician named Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Fox) playing brilliant music on an inexpensive violin and, out of curiosity (and the possibility of getting a column out of it) looks into his background, being amazed to discover that Ayers was a former Julliard student. As he continues writing about Ayers, he becomes more and more involved in his life, and tries to improve Ayers' status in life... which has some unexpected consequences.
What does it get wrong? Well, it probably doesn't need the several special-effects-laden sequences that illustrate Ayers getting transported into some kind of heavenly realm when he listens to music. Nobody has any idea if this what he feels when he hears music, and the sequences help to make the movie maybe 10 to 15 minutes longer than it really needs to be. Also, I personally could have done without actually hearing the voices that Ayers hears in his head. I acknowledge that many schizophrenics actually DO hear voices, but the movie doesn't consistently try to put the audience directly inside Ayers' head from the beginning: it just throws in these "voices" scenes at random, and because of this inconsistency I feel like it takes me out of the story a little: makes me remember that I'm sitting in a theatre watching a movie. And I'm a little curious about why they felt compelled to make some of the changes in the details of the characters' real lives: Lopez, for instance, is given a divorce and later reconciliation with the wife that, in reality, he's been happily married to and never even separated from for many years.
But these truly are very, very small quibbles compared to the things the film does well... and it does them VERY well, indeed. For starters, we have the performances of the two leads. Jamie Fox is genuinely deserving of not just another Oscar nomination but an actual win. I honestly don't think I have ever seen a more real, authentic performance by an actor in the role of a mentally ill character. You don't need special effects and actual voices... just watching Fox's face and listening to his staccato speach patterns, you can hear the voices he hears, see the things he sees, and completely understand the world he inhabits. It's downright shocking to realize that this is the same actor who completely convinced you he was Ray Charles, because watching this film all you see is Nathaniel Ayers, and while Ayers lives in a world none of the rest of us inhabit, you can easily convince yourself that that world is very familiar while you're watching Fox.
I also thought that Robert Downey, Jr. did excellent work in what could have been a colorless role. He convincingly gives Lopez his own insecurities, doubts and problems and makes it very understandable why Lopez would go out of his way to befriend Ayers and try to help him... and why he would try to pull back and disconnect his involvement when things begin to get complicated. Downey makes Lopez a real, relatable person and not some kind of perfect saint.
That last comment actually illustrates another somewhat surprising thing the movie does right: it's unexpectedly honest about the way this story would (and, to a fair degree, did) play out in the real world. You don't see Lopez never acting self-centered or short-tempered with Ayers... he did, and you see it in the movie. And most impressively, you don't see Ayers getting prescribed with just the right medication and escaping his schizophrenia forever and living a normal life. That just doesn't happen with people like Ayers, and this film doesn't pretend that it does. That's not to say that it says schizophrenics (or, for that matter, self-doubting newspaper columnists) can't have a happy life. It's just that the film isn't unrealistic on the subject.
So ultimately, does it matter that the movie stumbles a bit now and then? Not in the least. Performances on this level, and honesty about real life to the degree that this film has... not to mention the overall emotional experience it gives you... are all too rare in mainstream Hollywood projects. For a wide variety of reasons, "The Soloist" is very highly recommended.
Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez (Robert Downey, Jr.) encounters a homeless, mentally ill street musician named Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Fox) playing brilliant music on an inexpensive violin and, out of curiosity (and the possibility of getting a column out of it) looks into his background, being amazed to discover that Ayers was a former Julliard student. As he continues writing about Ayers, he becomes more and more involved in his life, and tries to improve Ayers' status in life... which has some unexpected consequences.
What does it get wrong? Well, it probably doesn't need the several special-effects-laden sequences that illustrate Ayers getting transported into some kind of heavenly realm when he listens to music. Nobody has any idea if this what he feels when he hears music, and the sequences help to make the movie maybe 10 to 15 minutes longer than it really needs to be. Also, I personally could have done without actually hearing the voices that Ayers hears in his head. I acknowledge that many schizophrenics actually DO hear voices, but the movie doesn't consistently try to put the audience directly inside Ayers' head from the beginning: it just throws in these "voices" scenes at random, and because of this inconsistency I feel like it takes me out of the story a little: makes me remember that I'm sitting in a theatre watching a movie. And I'm a little curious about why they felt compelled to make some of the changes in the details of the characters' real lives: Lopez, for instance, is given a divorce and later reconciliation with the wife that, in reality, he's been happily married to and never even separated from for many years.
But these truly are very, very small quibbles compared to the things the film does well... and it does them VERY well, indeed. For starters, we have the performances of the two leads. Jamie Fox is genuinely deserving of not just another Oscar nomination but an actual win. I honestly don't think I have ever seen a more real, authentic performance by an actor in the role of a mentally ill character. You don't need special effects and actual voices... just watching Fox's face and listening to his staccato speach patterns, you can hear the voices he hears, see the things he sees, and completely understand the world he inhabits. It's downright shocking to realize that this is the same actor who completely convinced you he was Ray Charles, because watching this film all you see is Nathaniel Ayers, and while Ayers lives in a world none of the rest of us inhabit, you can easily convince yourself that that world is very familiar while you're watching Fox.
I also thought that Robert Downey, Jr. did excellent work in what could have been a colorless role. He convincingly gives Lopez his own insecurities, doubts and problems and makes it very understandable why Lopez would go out of his way to befriend Ayers and try to help him... and why he would try to pull back and disconnect his involvement when things begin to get complicated. Downey makes Lopez a real, relatable person and not some kind of perfect saint.
That last comment actually illustrates another somewhat surprising thing the movie does right: it's unexpectedly honest about the way this story would (and, to a fair degree, did) play out in the real world. You don't see Lopez never acting self-centered or short-tempered with Ayers... he did, and you see it in the movie. And most impressively, you don't see Ayers getting prescribed with just the right medication and escaping his schizophrenia forever and living a normal life. That just doesn't happen with people like Ayers, and this film doesn't pretend that it does. That's not to say that it says schizophrenics (or, for that matter, self-doubting newspaper columnists) can't have a happy life. It's just that the film isn't unrealistic on the subject.
So ultimately, does it matter that the movie stumbles a bit now and then? Not in the least. Performances on this level, and honesty about real life to the degree that this film has... not to mention the overall emotional experience it gives you... are all too rare in mainstream Hollywood projects. For a wide variety of reasons, "The Soloist" is very highly recommended.
posted by Joe Bunce at
8:27 AM
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