A Great Film of Redemption and the Worth of a Human

Rating: 8/10 (28 May 2009)

All life is valuable. If there is one message you will take away from the Soloist is that all created life is of value and has worth. It is a film not only about one homeless man's struggle as he is down on his luck but also of a man who is searching for meaning in his life. While some may argue that it is a film lacking direction and motivation, I would argue that it exists to tell the stories of two men and how an act of friendship leads to growth in each of their personalities. It is also a story of grace, forgiveness in spite of past mistakes and the realization that there is still worth even when wrong decisions have been made.
Robert Downey Jr. plays Steve Lopez, a successful journalist at the LA Times. He is always looking for the next big story to tell and finds it in the homeless musician Nathaniel Ayers, played by Jamie Foxx. Steve begins to write a column about Nathaniel's talent and past all the meanwhile as he struggles to find his own worth in the world.
The film has numerous layers best outlined by Robert K. Johnston's adaptation of the medieval system of analysis - literal, allegorical, tropological and anagogical. Through these four layers the film communicates messages to the viewer that help to form the overall framework of the story. First off is literal.
The film tells the literal story of a man who is living on the street and down on his luck and how his life is changed by a journalist who wants to tell his story. It shows the redemption of both characters as they begin to work through their problems as well as their rediscovery of self worth.
Leading out of that is the Allegorical. This is what the film says, what message it is telling. The primary message of The Soloist is that all humans have worth, that there is forgiveness and grace for our past wrongs and that there is equality among humans. In spite of the different situations between the two characters there is a realization by the end of the film that there is a worth to both of them. As Steve begins to write his stories he always refers to Nathaniel by his first name all the while as Nathaniel calls Steve "Mr. Lopez." There is a certain respect level communicated by the simple way that they refer to each other. One of the main points where you know the realization of worth is in the end when Steve finally calls him "Mr. Ayers."
Knowing that there is worth to all people, this leads into to Tropological stage. The end of the film encourages people to get involved in other's lives. It shows the need for people to reach out to those in need and give them a hand to get back on their feet. Not only does the story in the film encourage this, the credits contain a URL pointing to a volunteering site and the main movie site has numerous resources for getting involved.
Finally the movie has a anagogical stage. This is where the film ultimately points to God. Outside of the numerous direct prayers made, including one powerful scene containing the Lord's prayer, the film encourages us to use the gifts that God has given us. At one point in the film Nathaniel is encouraged to use his gift that God has given him and that it would "be a sin" to ignore those gifts. At another point Steve acknowledges that Nathaniel's love of music and beautiful playing points to a "higher power." On top of this, Nathaniel views Steve as "his god" as Steve has extended down a hand to pick Nathaniel up and sacrifices so that Nathaniel may have grace in spite of his past mistakes. Finally, the film acknowledges the beauty in the world in the way that Nathaniel see's the beauty all around him and desires to keep things as clean as possible. He wants nothing to disrupt that beauty.
Ultimately, in spite of some of the flaws in the film, The Soloist is a great story of redemption, the worth of a human being as well meaning in life. With great performances from both Downey and Foxx, you will find yourself pulled into the beauty of the story and characters as they are underscored by the beauty of Beethoven and Bach. I would suggest this film to anyone who is interested in the worth of a human being.