The Soloist

JAMIE FOXX ISN'T FLYIN' SOLO NO MO. My Rating: *** - Decent

Jamie Foxx(upper left) was not an actor who crossed my mind very much. But after watching "The Soloist", you get a glimpse of his talent. As for Robert Downey Jr.(upper right), if you haven't heard of him, this film and definitely "Iron Man" are good places to start. After watching this film, I looked up some info on the true story behind this film and found a video that was a news cast that helps you compare the movie and the amazing true story. The plot is about a homeless man named Nathaniel Anthony Ayers Jr.(Jamie Foxx) who is an extremely talented musician who at one point went to the Julliard music school and had a great career ahead of him until it was all destroyed by the mental illness "Paranoid Schizophrenia" and he soon returned home and then ran away to be out on the streets. On the other end of the line, there is a journalist named Steve Lopez(Robert Downey Jr.) who is on an endless journey to find a decent story as something to write about for his column in the newspaper. One day he meets Mr. Ayers and he finds his situation and story very interesting and soon begins to write articles about him. But just "doing his job" quickly turns into him trying to help him out which quickly turns into One of Mr. Lopez's first meaningful friendships. The actors who would portray these complex characters were well chosen. Jamie Foxx leads you to believe he really is mentally ill when he sometimes talks in fast chatter about random things...mainly music since is also obsessed with Beethoven. Mr. Downey Jr. also does an excellent job. He seems to be your average everyday journalist. So the acting is obviously no issue. The movie does feel a little boring at times though and your attention may start to drift away but it manages to pull you back just in the nick of time before you stop paying attention. But it still is mostly interesting. At 123 minutes, it does feel slow but in the end you are happy to have heard this remarkable story. With one sharp turn to the next, you see homeless people (who were actually hired to play themselves in this movie) in dark areas and shelters who are part of riots and then you see Nathaniel playing his exquisite violin music everywhere from outside to inside, homeless shelters to the outside world, and from hollow street tunnels all the way to Walt Disney concert hall which seems like Mr. Ayers's church. Overall, great acting, story, and actors but is a little boring and uncomfortable in some parts but ultimately is a story worth telling.

Starring: Robert Downey Jr. Director: Joe Wright
Jamie Foxx
Catherine Keener