The Soloist
2009 Directed by Joe Wright
Synopsis
Life has a mind of its own
In 2005, Steve Lopez (Robert Downey, Jr.) is a journalist working for the L.A. Times. He is divorced and now works for his ex-wife, Mary (Catherine Keener), an editor. A biking accident lands Lopez in a hospital.One day, he hears a violin being played beautifully. Investigating, he encounters Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx), a homeless schizophrenic, who continues to bother Lopez until he introduces himself. During the conversation that follows, Lopez learns that Ayers once attended Juilliard. Curious as to how a former student of such a prestigious school ended up on the streets, Lopez contacts Juilliard but learns that no record of Ayers graduating from it exists. Though at first figuring a schizophrenic who's talented with a violin isn't worth his time, Lopez soon realizes that he has no better story to write about. Luckily, he soon learns that Ayers did attend Juilliard, but dropped out after two years.
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this match made in hell was a mess that moment they picked JOE WRIGHT to direct; a strange script filmed with a bold aesthetic hand made this film an almost unbearable experience.
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What a powerful movie. Jamie Foxx at hist best and very great acting by Robert Downey Jr. I think this movie gives a realistic picture of schizophrenia.
I would recommend anyone to watch this movie.
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After proving himself the modern master of classy British literary adaptations (Pride and Prejudice, Atonement), Joe Wright turned his hand to another (but altogether different) type of book. The story of Steve Lopez, a LA Times reporter, who discovers Nathaniel Ayers, a talented, but troubled, musician, living on the streets and sets out to enhance his life, sounds like it came from the pen of some Hollywood writer, but it's all true! A flop upon it's release, The Soloist deserves to be seen. Not least because it contains two incredible lead performances from Downey, Jr. and Jamie Foxx. Downey is his usual cocksure, charismatic self, while Foxx perfectly encapsulates what it must be like for a person with masses of…
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Robert Downey Jr once again elevates an otherwise average film with another outstanding performance. Fairly forgettable, but a nice character piece and acting showcase. One problem the film has is that it touches on subplots that either have noting to do with the story (falling readership/stock prices at the newspaper resulting in more and more layoffs), or that it completely abandons (the city's promise to spend more to address the poverty issue in the area turns out to just be cracking down on arrests and pushing people off the streets).
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Una verdadera pena lo de esta pelicula.Robert Downey jr,Jamie Foxx una historia de las de caracter humano con el punto justo de lagrimeo...un verdadero reto de pelicula,pero Joe Wright decide salir corriendo en lugar de intentar hacer algo verdaderamente atrevido con semejantes ingredientes y realiza una pelicula plana sin mas. Tres estrellas por el duo actoral.Si os gusta "Shine",tambien os gustará "El Solista",aunque "Shine"es muy superior.
A real shame about this film.Robert Downey Jr,Jamie Foxx,a history with the exact point of easy crying...a real challenge in film shape,but Joe Wright decided to run away instead of trying to do something brave with such great ingredients and made just a correct film.Three stars because of the acting.If you liked "Shine",you will like this film,even if this film isn´t as good as "Shine".
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This is a wonderful adjunct to the book. Very different. It's a jumbled set of sensory experiences that give a felt sense of what both characters experienced that couldn't be portrayed in book form. I think I wouldn't have enjoyed the movie as much if I hadn't read the book first.
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RD junior is a brilliant actor
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Not too bad, both RDJ & Jamie Foxx were great. Some parts didn't really echo the original articles very well, if at all, while some did quite splendidly, which is about what I expected I guess from an adaption of newspaper articles/book. There were times too when it seemed like it was trying too hard to be an oscar-winning film and was just overly-dramatic and almost laughable, especially in the flashbacks. Probably my second favorite music movie now, behind Once.
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A very good story fairly well told.
Can't help wishing the journalist had been a film maker who had shot original footage of this. That would have made for a documentary to rival 'Searching For Sugerman'. -
Robert Downey Jr. slips on his own piss in this movie. Pretty good.
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Its a good story, nothing more, nothing less.