A car magnate watches his personal and professional life hit the skids because of his business and romantic indiscretions.A car magnate watches his personal and professional life hit the skids because of his business and romantic indiscretions.A car magnate watches his personal and professional life hit the skids because of his business and romantic indiscretions.
- Directors
- Writer
- Stars
- Awards
- 2 wins & 3 nominations total
- Nurse
- (as Simona Levin Williams)
- Nascarella
- (as Arthur Nascarella)
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- Writer
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The film begins with Ben receiving some bad health news then it flashes ahead six and one half years. And it's clear that this has changed Ben's lifestyle and his personal dealings with his job and family. Ben's now divorced from his wife Nancy(Susan Sarandon)and his relationship with his daughter Susan(Jenna Fischer) is strained. Ben's only satisfaction is his romancing and dating of Jordan(Mary-Louise Parker) an elegant and sophisticated single mother who's attractive and sexy daughter Allyson(Imogen Poots)becomes a conquest of Ben's. That's right when he accompanies Allyson away on a college trip he beds this 18 year old. Also on the trip Ben parties up with a fellow campus student(Jesse Eisenberg). Clearly Ben is trying to live his teenage years all over.
Kalmen can only dream of his past success as a high rolling car magnate in which he threw away due to his crooked dealings. As his complex behavior continues his only comfort is found when he reconnects with Jimmy(Danny Devito) an old school friend who offers Ben a job at his diner. This is a way that Ben can pay off his debts. Slowly you as the viewer see it was just meant for this man to be complex as you have to pay your debts to life and society when you screw up. And clearly as proved with this film when one is in dire straits vices and rediscovering youth is a pleasure of relief. Still you accept the hard ways and see some people don't want to change their ways only you as the viewer root for redemption for complex characters like Ben Kalmen. Overall this was a complex and touching feel good performance from Michael Douglas.
The title of this could have been Scorpion because a scorpion does what a scorpion does regardless of circumstances and anyone and anything around it. Ben is a womanizer and that seems to be on his mind all the time despite everything else going wrong in his life. And, that never seems to change.
Ben is likable to all, but when we see him we do not like him and wish he would do the right things. There is a moment, in the beginning, when we feel Ben has it all together, has all the answers, but then we discover we were wrong. He has the gift of gab, but even though still likable, the people around him do not trust him and don't believe him either ..yet they hope the best for him.
This was a great job by Douglas so much so that I felt his pain when he reflected from time to time. A great supporting cast brings everything home to us and we are helpless to do anything but hope Ben finally realizes what he is up against. An Oscar nomination for Douglas may be in the works, but Jenna Fischer who played Ben's daughter, Susan, may get a Best Supporting nod. She was us watching Ben and hoping.
The real winner in here is the dialogue throughout. It was honest and effective.
In the beginning, Johnny Cash sings the song Solitary Man in a slow rhythmic way to let us know Ben's plight, but the song is about women who did him wrong and that was NOT the case here. Did I hear someone say, "Ooops?" It is Ben's sexual nature that does him wrong, not any woman. The ending to this story leaves us with a choice as to what we would like to see happen, but remember the scorpion.
Violence: Yes, some, not much Sex: No. Nudity: No. Sexual Content: Yes, almost throughout Language: Yes, but not much.
The direction and writing, by Brian Koppelman and David Levien, takes a bittersweet approach to this story, chronicling the events while elegantly letting us decide what we think of Ben. In this respect, I felt they were honest and not manipulative. Unfortunately, this will also make it hard for some people to relate to the subject, unless they have contemplated those situations themselves.
The story is quite simple at its heart and tackles issues that are becoming more and more prevalent in our society. That is, we are constantly told we deserve it all, we deserve it now and we deserve it forever. Ben (implicitly and explicitly) would like to be the person he used to be, has a hard time redefining facets of his life.
Viewers will have different takes on Ben, ranging from admirable to pathetic but he is never demonized nor sainted in the movie. Unfortunately, while the themes are strongly driven throughout the film, the story itself looks more like a series of anecdotes, some of which are not stringed in the most elegant way.
The whole cast around Douglas (quite an ensemble) is excellent, except Susan Sarandon who is surprisingly bland and not up to her usually high standards. I felt her characters had few scenes but they were key to invest the audience and something was lacking there.
The film's ending is great and more food for thoughts but overall, Solitary Man falls short of being a classic due to a few writing issues.
Did you know
- TriviaThis film shares its title with a Neil Diamond song sung by Johnny Cash at the beginning of the film. Johnny Cash was known as "the man in black" due to his propensity for wearing all black. Michael Douglas' character spends most of the film wearing black clothing and only occasionally wears anything except black.
- Quotes
Ben Kalmen: You got your little jokes, you know, the Spanish thing, interests are the same, and the studying. But, um, are you getting it, you know, where it counts?
Maureen: Oh, Ben. Cheston thinks you care about him.
Ben Kalmen: This has nothing to do with him. He's never gonna know about this. Never.
Maureen: Aren't you a little old for all this?
Ben Kalmen: You're still standing here, aren't you?
Maureen: Yeah, 'cause I'm contemplating throwing this drink in your face. But I'm not going to, because I don't want Cheston to know what you just tried. So you can just walk away. Please.
Ben Kalmen: Nothing personal.
Maureen: Hey. That is it, actually. Since you asked, that's what I get from him. Something personal. Besides getting it done where it counts, which he does. Cheston and I reach each other. He's tender and sweet and smart and funny and a million things that you aren't.
Ben Kalmen: I was once, honey. It doesn't last.
- SoundtracksSolitary Man
Written by Neil Diamond
Performed by Johnny Cash
Published by Tellyrand Music Inc (SESAC)
Courtesy of American Recordings
By arrangement with Sony Music Licensing
- How long is Solitary Man?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Kẻ Bịp Bợm
- Filming locations
- City Island, Bronx, New York City, New York, USA(City Island Diner)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $15,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $4,360,548
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $94,936
- May 23, 2010
- Gross worldwide
- $5,682,554
- Runtime
- 1h 30m(90 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39:1