Uninspired retread of well-known morals

Rating: 5/10 (29 April 2009)

I'm hoping that The Soloist will come across as one of the most disappointing movies of 2009, because if we get anything more of a letdown than this it's gonna be pretty bad. I awaited the movie with enormous anticipation. Jamie Foxx has proved himself as a tremendously talented actor many times over, and Robert Downey Jr., long since one of my favorite actors, is at the height of his career with his work in movies like Iron Man and Tropic Thunder, as well as the upcoming Sherlock Holmes, Master Mind, The Avengers, and Iron Man 2.
Now, I hope I can say this without sounding like I'm really bashing the movie, because it is competently made and competently acted, but there were points in the movie where the pure badness almost approached camp. There is no doubt that the movie was green-lighted and cast with visions of Oscars dancing in the heads of Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey Jr. and the movie's producers, but somewhere along the way there was a necessary element that just never made it into the final cut. The movie definitely has it's fans and it certainly is a moving story, but I can tell you with pretty strong certainty that there are no Oscars in The Soloist's future.
That being said, I should probably also admit that I had the hardest time putting my finger on exactly what went wrong. Maybe it is something as simple as a permeating lack of originality. Maybe the presentation of a mentally ill main character was handled without the necessary subtlety or authenticity. In Tropic Thunder, Robert Downey Jr. himself expounded on the dangers of an actor going full retard, maybe this is a case of what happens when you go 'full crazy?' Whatever the case, I am truly sorry to say that both stars have scenes where their performances come across as almost bizarrely cheesy.
Of course it might be just me, but I doubt it.
Robert Downey Jr. plays Steve Lopez, a Los Angeles Times columnist desperate for a good story, when he one day runs into Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx), a homeless man with obviously tremendous musical talent. There goes cliché number one. Through a muddled combination of personal interest and hope for the betterment of Ayers' life, Lopez makes it his life's to get Ayers off the streets, on medication, and into a successful musical career where he belongs.
It's hard not to be moved by such a story, but it's also hard to find anything original in it. It's based on a true story, even to the point of showing an incident where an elderly LA Times reader sent in her own cello, one she had been playing herself for decades, because she was so moved by Lopez's story about Ayers. The movie's presentation of this event is one of its simplest but best scenes.
But after thatwhat? I won't ruin the story for you, because while I found the movie disappointing, I would also say that it's not disappointing to the point that people shouldn't watch it. But it leaves you with a definite feeling that it should have been something more, or that the true story on which it's based simply doesn't have the ingredients for a successful drama. There is a point in the movie, for example, where Ayers utters the line, "If I ever see you again I'll cut you open and gut you like a fish." I appreciate the portrayal of paralyzing mental confusion, but I'm going to go ahead and suggest the majority of the audience is going to see that as a good time to turn your life- saving mission over to professionals who have some idea of what they're dealing with.
Then again, it's also exactly this kind of difficulty that has led to the most satisfying struggles against the odds in similarly uplifting movies, but The Soloist argues that friendship should be enough to overcome even the most insurmountable barriers, it takes us on this painful struggle with a damaged mind, and then, worst of all, it all leads up to one of those stupid, stupid voice-over speeches at the end that's supposed to tie everything up with a cute little bow. God I can't stand that.
Watch the movie when it comes out on DVD. It's not a complete failure, but it is much less than the sum of its parts and it gives that feeling that it is always just about to develop into something really great but it just never happens. It does a good job of approaching the difficult paradox of how far people should be able to go in efforts to force a better life on someone, but for all of the ambition clearly involved in its production, it should easily have forced out a much better movie.