The release of The Soloist has certainly been delayed. It was initially meant to be released at the end of last year, in order to be eligible for the Oscars, but it got delayed in the US until April, while it’s only appearing in the UK now.
Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) is a journalist who hasn’t had a good story in a while and is worried about his job. He happens upon a street musician, Nathaniel Ayers, who’s playing a violin beautifully despite the fact it only has two strings. Slowly a friendship develops between Lopez and Ayers, who is a former Juilliard student who developed schizophrenia while at the renowned arts school and now lives on the streets, still playing his violin and cello, but unable to be part of ‘normal’ society. Lopez sets out to help Nathaniel, but soon realises that perhaps it isn’t only the homeless man’s life that needs to be transformed, and that you can’t sort out the problems of homelessness and mental illness with a few token actions and some nice words.
Based on a true story (although with quite a few details changed, such as the fact that in the film Lopez is newly divorced, in order to give things a bit more drama, while in reality he remains married), The Soloist may be imperfect, but it certainly manages to make for a very worthwhile couple of hours. Although a tale like this will always be in danger of collapsing into maudlin sentimentality, British director Joe Wright (Atonement) carefully ensures the movie never goes over the top, only reaching for the heartstrings when it’s truly deserved.
It’s too his credit that Wright takes a few risks with the film, such as not Hollywood-ising Ayer’s mental illness, which makes him an ambiguous, difficult to deal with and not always likable character, but actually more emotionally effecting, because it seems more ‘real’. The Soloist is helped immensely in this regard by Jamie Foxx and his take on Ayer’s verbose, scat-like way of talking. The movie also constantly reminds you that while this is the story of one man trying to help a single homeless man lead something resembling a normal life, there are thousands out there on the street who don’t have that.
It’s actually quite nice to see a film where there may be a slight romanticising of the relationship between Lopez and Ayers, but it’s willing to admit that the problems of mental illness and homelessness aren’t going to be tied up with a bow by the time the end credits roll, even for the main characters.
By not going for the easy Hollywood route, the film does occasionally feel a bit awkward, and there are moments when it seems unsure what it wants to say, but for most of the running time it’s uplifting and engrossing, with both Downey Jr and Foxx on excellent form, dragging you into the story or two men who could have seemed unsympathetic in less sure hands. Along with Wright’s intelligence and style, they’ve made an excellent and uncompromising film, which takes a tough look at subjects that are too rarely depicted on screen.
Overall Verdict: Despite the delays in getting it into UK cinemas, The Soloist was worth the wait, with great performances and an engrossing plot.
Reviewer: Sam Bruneau
