The Soloist

Congratulations Jamie Foxx! You are so good in this movie, I almost want to forgive you for Miami Vice. Almost.

Based on a true story, Foxx stars as Nathaniel Ayers – a talented, but troubled musician. Although he studied at Julliard, and still shows the same love and talent for music, Nathaniel spends his days under a tunnel, suffering from mental illness and playing a violin with only two strings. In steps Steve Lopez (Robert Downey, Jr.) – a crusading columnist for The Los Angeles Times. After finding Nathaniel, and learning about his life, Lopez starts to write a series of columns, and tries to help the musician.

Can Lopez make a difference?

Does Nathaniel want help?

The Soloist is a mix of a typical, heartbreaking made-for-Hollywood story, and a realistic portrayal of mental illness complete with the unpredictability and pain. Writer Susannah Grant (based on the book by Steve Lopez) and director Joe Wright do try to bite off a bit more than they might be able to chew as The Soloist suffers from a lack of focus. The audience flashes back to moments in Nathaniel’s life and watches his steady descent into mental illness, but this structure doesn’t hold up as Wright and Grant only go back to it sparingly. Some sections drag, leaving the audience to wonder why some scenes or some parts of the story are in The Soloist (drama about the newspaper laying off workers and Nathaniel’s involvement with another cellist come to mind), but Wright and Grant mostly deliver a strong movie.

Most of all, I admire their willingness to take the examination of mental illness beyond the typical, which adds depth and thoughtfulness to The Soloist. Going into the movie, one might expect a Hollywood cliché where Nathaniel finds salvation through music and the aid of medication, but the story introduces a very real and painful truth about him and others who suffer. Maybe, he doesn’t want help. This adds immense drama to The Soloist as well as plenty of opportunities for Downey to show his acting skills.

Downey and Foxx make for a potent team. Downey gives Lopez a crusading passion, a couple of comedic moments, sardonic reactions to the world around him and honest concern for his new friend, who is so talented and ill. At times, he becomes our eyes and ears to the world Nathaniel inhabits, and skillfully shows us the same reactions we are experiencing in our seats.

Then, Foxx shows the kind of Oscar winning acting chops we saw in Ray. He makes Nathaniel lovable, feared, angry, troubled and even charmingly funny in his own way. This is why it is so shocking to watch his eyes and facial reactions vary from disconnected and practically comatose to fearsome and violent at the drop of a hat.

The Soloist might have a few flaws, but you will become so emotionally invested, the flaws won’t matter.

The Soloist is rated PG-13 for for thematic elements, some drug use and language.