The Artistic Values of this Movie Goes Beyond What's Expected

Rating: 9/10 (4 January 2010)

The beauty of "The Soloist" is gloriously flabbergasting. The music will have you in stitches. The creativity in the making of this movie will inspire you to pick up an instrument and join in because the music is so sublime. But throughout, the message carries with you the whole way through and it's artistic values never shy away from the theme of the movie. The movie is not a family oriented movie, primarily due to the strong subject matter centred around a homeless man with a mental setback and the lack of service the state of California can do to provide this important cause. This at times can even be aggravating to even the mature audiences, but the story is capable to educate you on this subject and also to be entertained by the audiences.
For those who have family members with mental illnesses can easily relate to the character of Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx in an amazing performance), in the difficult struggles they face in life and towards the family members who are handling the situations they face. And those who have never encountered a person in the condition Nathaniel faces everyday in life will be able to understand that even though he's ill, doesn't mean he's not able to amount to anything. Even though Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. turned in some excellent performances, they are backed up with a strong supporting cast which also provide equally amazing performances.
The cellist who was tutoring Foxx's character comes off as unlikable, but the actor who played the character banked a convincing performance. The character was in serious desire for a reality check it's not funny. One of the most memorable scenes was when the musician tutor calls journalist Steve Lopez (Downey) to set up Nathan for a performance. While the phone call is in progress, he is in an awkward position that keeps himself isolated and incoherent in the world that surrounds him, making this guy an arrogant and ignorant character. But this character in particular may symbolize the ignorance of society in general and how lackadaisical we are for people like Nathan's character.
Like one would expect, lot of ground has been covered that it can leave one very sad after the credits roll. Not from the high-profiled storyline, but more from our own self-centred agendas leaving out those who are in need for our help only to be neglected by us.