Going solo

Rating: 6/10 (8 February 2018)

With an interesting subject matter, two talented actors starring, Beethoven (one of my favourite composers) featuring heavily in the soundtrack and an impressive trailer, 'The Soloist' had enough to make me want to see it.
Joe Wright is somewhat hit and miss for me. 'Atonement' and 'Hanna' especially of his films are great, also liked 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Darkest Hour'. 'Anna Karenina' didn't do it for me though and 'Pan' was a big misfire. 'The Soloist's' mixed reception admittedly created some uncertainty on my part, but the interest points mentioned in the first paragraph were enough to check it out anyway. Seeing it, 'The Soloist' is somewhere in the middle of Wright's films in ranking.
Not one of his best, not one of his worst either. Better than reputed, but considering the potential a better film was in there somewhere that didn't quite materialise.
'The Soloist's' biggest strength is the two leads. Robert Downey Jnr. especially is riveting in a performance full of vigour and heart. Jamie Foxx had the more challenging role, and while not as subtle as Downey his acting is incredibly emotionally committed and touching. Catherine Keener also fares well.
It's a good looking film too, polished, gritty and elegant. The music is magnificent as one would hope. 'The Soloist' does have its fair share of powerful, poignant and uplifting moments, the chemistry between the two leads strikes all the right notes and the scenes and portrayal of the homeless have a lot of power. The portrayal of schizophrenia, a very complex condition that has been prone to a lot of misconceptions and misinterpretations, is not too inaccurate.
However, Wright's direction is fairly unimaginative and sometimes chaotic. While there is nothing amateurish about his images (apart from some over-eager/clever editing) not all of them serve much of a purpose. The script does tend to ramble, even in Foxx's dialogue which is at times slightly annoying, and be too ham-fisted.
Similarly, the story is somewhat too thin and tries to cover too many themes and ideas without exploring some of them enough. Consequently, some of the film gets unfocused and over-crowded with a tendency to get melodramatic and be erratically paced. The rest of the acting barely registers, which is a shame because the two leads are so good.
Overall, not a bad film but could have been more. 6/10 Bethany Cox