Le soliste

Steve Lopez is a Los Angeles Times columnist in need of a decent story.One day he encounters,by chance, Nathaniel Ayers, a homeless schizophrenic street musician with an abundance of talent.Lopez writes a series of articles about Nathaniel and tries to help him, to improve his conditions of living and gives him a chance to showcase his talent however Nathaniel's disease has created demons that he can't ignore and Lopez sees most of his efforts frustrated...To be honest I was expecting a way better movie, I saw the trailer months ago and it got me excited, the movie seemed to have all the ingredients to be a success,plus two amazing actors, Robert Downey Jr as Lopez and Jammie Foxx as Nathaniel.However, I felt disappointed.Lopez struggle to reach to Nathaniel and his constant efforts to help him were interesting to watch but that is pretty much everything that happens in the movie.In the end almost everything looks the same as in the beginning and not much has happened.Sure, Lopez had a small yet positive impact on Nathaniel's life and he,himself, might have gained a little something from that relationship too but I was expecting a wider range of events so to speak...I'm not saying that he should have been cured by the end of the film, as much as Hollywood loves happy endings that would be unrealistic but I did expect something to happen...some kind of development that would make this story worth telling.It never came. Maybe this story(based on real events) just doesn't translate very well to the big screen.I think the film aspired to be great but felt short.On a more positive note, Jamie Foxx's performance was great and felt very authentic.

6/10

Yes, you can trust Joe Wright with your life, without bound for two hours.

Some parts of this are simply ordinary. There's the original sequence of stories which exploited the simple tension of discarded talent in a city that both worships talent and discards people wholesale. These were simple structures, headlines and patronizing prose.

There's the screenplay by a hack, with simple shape and essentially no movement. In other words, forget what people usually think a movie is about: the people and the story. Those parts are missing. There is no happy ending. There is no redemption.

But this has three things: madness, music and the marriage of madness and music.

I saw this right after "State of Play," a traditional newspaper movie, with archetypal writer and editor. This is a modern version with two of our most folded actors: Downey and Keener. Their job is simple: define an edge between internal and external. The coupled acting here is not between Downey and Foxx, but between Downey and Keener playing a recently divorced couple. There's a quiet tension these two build around the absent son, whose place Foxx's character fills.

Foxx makes not a character but an phenomenon, an experience, this experience of madness in music. He is helped by being placed amid folks who we are told are "real disturbed people." What Wright has is a fairly vacuous notion of madness, but a sublime talent in expressing it cinematically. Some of his tricks are trivial when considered independently: a cutout of Ayers getting smaller and "disappearing into" the music; a cheesy light show to Beethoven; an attempt to conflate voices in the head to music in the head. This latter is very real but the expression is cheap.

While they seem trite individually, none are used heavily or relied on. And the effect when combined with more masterly things produces a symphony of excess. Downey's character remarks on the sheer depth, the love the penetration in describing just this very thing we see. It works. Music, indeed all real paths through passion are madness. Every adventure into commitment is a step outside safety of self.

Wright knows this. He feels it. He can show it. I can trust him with my life. Its madness to do so, but I recommend it to you.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

What makes this film watchable is that it is based on a true story. A caring Los Angeles reporter named Steve Lopez (Robert Downey, Jr.) tries to help a homeless man named Nathaniel Anthony Ayers (Jamie Foxx).

Ayers suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. But he once attended Julliard, and he still lives and breathes the music of Beethoven. Ayers, with his shopping cart of possessions, walks the streets, playing his violin amid the noise of the freeway. He's content, in his own world.

That unusual behavior grabs the attention of Lopez, no doubt as a human interest story for his own column. But as Lopez gradually becomes more genuinely concerned about Ayers, their relationship encounters frustration, anger, and emotional pain.

It's a poignant, gritty story, full of realism. The film manages to be compassionate without being patronizing. The film does a terrific job in portraying the harsh, depressing reality of the boarders who live at a large shelter where Ayers goes, at the insistence of Lopez.

Technical elements of the film are good. The visuals are thematically impressive. Production design and costumes are detailed and realistic. Acting is credible. Robert Downey, Jr. gives a fine performance.

The main problem is the plot. Too much time is spent on Lopez and his trivialities. Somehow, the compelling Ayers story morphs into a weighty examination of Lopez and his distress in dealing with Ayers. The script is to blame here. I think if the main character had been Ayers, instead of Lopez, the film could have been quite inspiring.

Even so, the film clearly calls attention to the plight of the urban homeless. As such, the film deserves viewer support.

With an interesting subject matter, two talented actors starring, Beethoven (one of my favourite composers) featuring heavily in the soundtrack and an impressive trailer, 'The Soloist' had enough to make me want to see it.

Joe Wright is somewhat hit and miss for me. 'Atonement' and 'Hanna' especially of his films are great, also liked 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Darkest Hour'. 'Anna Karenina' didn't do it for me though and 'Pan' was a big misfire. 'The Soloist's' mixed reception admittedly created some uncertainty on my part, but the interest points mentioned in the first paragraph were enough to check it out anyway. Seeing it, 'The Soloist' is somewhere in the middle of Wright's films in ranking.

Not one of his best, not one of his worst either. Better than reputed, but considering the potential a better film was in there somewhere that didn't quite materialise.

'The Soloist's' biggest strength is the two leads. Robert Downey Jnr. especially is riveting in a performance full of vigour and heart. Jamie Foxx had the more challenging role, and while not as subtle as Downey his acting is incredibly emotionally committed and touching. Catherine Keener also fares well.

It's a good looking film too, polished, gritty and elegant. The music is magnificent as one would hope. 'The Soloist' does have its fair share of powerful, poignant and uplifting moments, the chemistry between the two leads strikes all the right notes and the scenes and portrayal of the homeless have a lot of power. The portrayal of schizophrenia, a very complex condition that has been prone to a lot of misconceptions and misinterpretations, is not too inaccurate.

However, Wright's direction is fairly unimaginative and sometimes chaotic. While there is nothing amateurish about his images (apart from some over-eager/clever editing) not all of them serve much of a purpose. The script does tend to ramble, even in Foxx's dialogue which is at times slightly annoying, and be too ham-fisted.

Similarly, the story is somewhat too thin and tries to cover too many themes and ideas without exploring some of them enough. Consequently, some of the film gets unfocused and over-crowded with a tendency to get melodramatic and be erratically paced. The rest of the acting barely registers, which is a shame because the two leads are so good.

Overall, not a bad film but could have been more. 6/10 Bethany Cox

After catching snippets of the lackluster reviews (two-stars in the Globe and Mail) I was dis-heartened. It's been a few months since I'd been moved by the trailer. However, the film never came out. I thought it might have been shelved.

I was glad to see it was indeed playing. In spite of the reviews, I persevered on the strength of the trailer. It seemed to me there was too much talent and pedigree involved for it to actually suck. And you know what? it's a terrific film with a poignant story. Perhaps lower expectations propped up my perceptions of it, however, it still stands as time well spent.

The film is based on a true story involving a top columnist at the LA Times, Steve Lopez, played with grace by Robert Downey Jr., who becomes invested in one of his more colourful subjects, Nathaniel Ayers, an accomplished musician overcome by mental illness, now living on the streets of LA portrayed by Jamie Foxx, who rambles his way to a convincing performance.

The film is a satisfying adult drama that doesn't lose it's direction. It doesn't pander to it's audience. There is no random violence, no guns, but indeed simply good story telling with great characterizations. It's a decent film that deserves better treatment in the press. It has a noble heart that succeeds in telling a great human story.

It resonates and strikes a chord.