<em>”The Soloist”</em><br>
Directed by Joe Wright<br>
PARAMOUNT PICTURES<br>
<img src="http://128.97.251.217:8080/img/photos/2007/08/20/paw_t820.jpg" height="35" /><img src="http://128.97.251.217:8080/img/photos/2007/08/20/paw_t820.jpg" height="35" /><img src="http://128.97.251.217:8080/img/photos/2007/08/20/paw_t820.jpg" height="35" /><img src="http://128.97.251.217:8080/img/photos/2007/08/20/paw_t820.jpg" height="35" />
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They say that music is therapeutic. For Nathaniel Ayers, music is “grace.” Based on true events, “The Soloist” is a drama about the unlikely friendship between Los Angeles Times writer Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) and the homeless, schizophrenic music genius Ayers (Jamie Foxx), who help each other find this “grace.”
As each individual comes to terms with life’s everyday madness ““ Lopez is a workaholic in a declining marriage, and Ayers is a Juilliard dropout living on the streets ““ they help one another rediscover the light of humanity and reconnect with the ones they love.
Worshipping first Beethoven, then Lopez, as his personal god, Ayers is depicted as a carefree spirit content with only his violin, his shopping cart and his outfits, which vary from American stars and stripes to a luchador mask and a sequined cape. Alienated by his disease and early shock-therapy treatment, Ayers’ sole comfort is playing his two-string violin beneath the busy sounds of a highway bridge.
Director Joe Wright (“Atonement”) juxtaposes a bird’s-eye view of interwoven highways with two birds flying solo, hinting at the solace that Lopez and Ayers find in their friendship as well as a Foucault-worthy metaphor of the madness of society and the fine line between the sane and insane.
Throughout the movie, the portrayal of danger and squalor for the homeless throughout Los Angeles’ Lamp Community stands as a desperate cry out to America for the lack of help given to the homeless.
Wright deserves kudos for capturing some outstanding shots of raw dialogue and genuine human interaction between Lopez and the homeless community on Skid Row. Foxx also stepped up in this role, lending fascinating depth in his portrayal of Ayers and winning over the audience with his dramatic scenes.
Although he delivers some laughably absurd dialogue and some unnatural, stream-of-consciousness dialogue, Foxx’s performance strikes a chord with his realistic and unexpectedly frightening outbursts of both physical and emotional rage. In a defining moment, Foxx summons a violently unstable beast in the disturbance and schizophrenic frenzy of a character we can all relate to. Downey Jr. does a great job portraying Lopez as a story-hungry journalist totally consumed by his work, but his “sane,” straight character is often dwarfed by Foxx’s psychotic rigor.
A few minute qualms were mostly creative or technical. One scene, in which the audience is transported to a private concert by the Los Angeles Philharmonic ““ music composed by Dario Marienelli ““ stands out. What should be a moment of orchestral vibrancy becomes a distracting five minutes of Ayers’ perspective depicted on-screen by colors. Although a creative idea in theory, this scene came across as a bit cliche and visually lacking ““ as though someone had accidentally turned on the iTunes visualizer, minus the cool factor.
Despite a few out-of-place experimental shots reminiscent of film-student cinematography (e.g., color splashes, shaky-camera schizophrenia, grainy shots of “the streets”), the film retains a relatively cohesive flow as it weaves between the two stories of Lopez and Ayers. Concert aficionados and college students alike can appreciate the struggle, passion and talent that resonate in Ayers.
“The Soloist” is a moving and beautiful piece that not only brings out the acting hoopla of real emotion and dynamic intensity that Foxx and Downey Jr. hit perfectly, but the film leaves the audience in awe of Ayers’ life story and the strength, humanity and passion of a man who manages to find solace from life’s challenges in the simplicity of friendship and music.
““ Kim Wong
E-mail Mak at smak@media.ucla.edu and Wong at kwong@media.ucla.edu.