The Soloist
Authored By: Jasmin Hussain
Based on a true story The Soloist, is a film that ultimately comes to show a rescue mission. Featuring duo Jamie Foxx who plays Nathaniel Ayers, a schizophrenic cellist who was once a musical prodigy at Juilliard, and Robert Downey Jr. as Steve Lopez, a divorced Los Angeles Times columnist who works for his wife. The movie opens with Lopez, letting the audience get a good look at his troubled life. Lopez, working for a big newspaper company struggles to get a decent story. It isn’t until he gets in a bike accident and starts walking around the streets of LA when he meets Ayers, a homeless man playing Beethoven harmoniously on a violin with just two strings. Having written stories for years, Lopez has a clear understanding of what kind of a tale is worth sharing with the world. Robert Downey Jr. does a stellar job of portraying the persistent writer who goes to extreme lengths to get his story. This proves to be an essential part of Lopez’s character as he starts to care more for Ayers throughout the film.
The Soloist has many elements of an inspirational drama. The film is designed to make you want to like it. Taking you deeper into how Lopez works to “fix” Ayers. Giving the audience hope that Ayers will return to performing at grand concerto's, and live on to be the musical prodigy he once was. However seeing a reluctant Nathaniel Ayers, who prefers being homeless can be frustrating. Vacillating between wanting to give sympathy to Ayers who has clearly gone through a rough patch, but at the same time wanting Lopez to be successful gave me a hard time. I will however say that Jamie Foxx’s performance of Nathaniel lessened my frustration. Foxx does a great job of portraying a paranoid, irritable, and scared schizophrenic. By seeing the expressions on his face, I could almost feel how he felt at the moment.
Lopez is desperate to get a reluctant Ayers on medication. In comparison to Russell Crowe’s A Beautiful Mind, The Soloist focuses less on the illness and more on the character and his passion for music. Through Robert Downey’s remarkable portrayal of Lopez during the bar scene, when he explains to his ex-wife how Ayers feels when Beethoven is played, I could clearly understand what music meant to Ayers. I was able to realize that Nathaniel’s feelings for music is truly unique, which is something director Joe Wright made sure the audience would grasp. Joe Wright clearly has a vision for how he wants Nathaniel Ayers’s story to be told. The film features mise-en-scene sequences and great establishing shots of grand auditoriums with full orchestra’s complete with bright lighting, elegant costumes and Beethoven, one of the only things that allows Nathaniel to keep moving forward.
It was only after I finished watching the film I was able to realize The Soloist was more about a journey of two friends who helped each other grow, instead of a cellist getting back on track after dropping out of Juilliard. The film ends leaving the audience alert. When do we let strangers into our lives, more specifically when is it ok for strangers to completely change our lives? These thoughts leave the audience with the hope to do more. Reflecting on the main themes after the film inspire the audience and allow them to leave with bigger ideas. The film leaves me hanging in the end. It is clearly implied that Nathaniel is safe and he’s with Lopez, but what about his musical career? We never see Nathaniel performing at a concerto, playing as well as he used to. This leaves me thinking will Nathaniel always be a soloist with the voices speaking to him? Will he always return to Lopez?
It was only after I finished watching the film I was able to realize The Soloist was more about a journey of two friends who helped each other grow, instead of a cellist getting back on track after dropping out of Juilliard. The film ends leaving the audience alert. When do we let strangers into our lives, more specifically when is it ok for strangers to completely change our lives? These thoughts leave the audience with the hope to do more. Reflecting on the main themes after the film inspire the audience and allow them to leave with bigger ideas. The film leaves me hanging in the end. It is clearly implied that Nathaniel is safe and he’s with Lopez, but what about his musical career? We never see Nathaniel performing at a concerto, playing as well as he used to. This leaves me thinking will Nathaniel always be a soloist with the voices speaking to him? Will he always return to Lopez?
CITATIONS:
"Compelling - and Dizzying." Philly.com. N.p., 24 Apr. 2009. Web. Mar. 2014.
Dargis, Manohla. "Struggle and Rescue, a Duet in Sharps and Minors." The New York Times. The New York Times, 23 Apr. 2009. Web. Mar. 2014.
"Review: 'The Soloist'" The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Apr. 2009. Web. Mar. 2014.
"The Soloist." All Content. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar. 2014.
"Compelling - and Dizzying." Philly.com. N.p., 24 Apr. 2009. Web. Mar. 2014.
Dargis, Manohla. "Struggle and Rescue, a Duet in Sharps and Minors." The New York Times. The New York Times, 23 Apr. 2009. Web. Mar. 2014.
"Review: 'The Soloist'" The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Apr. 2009. Web. Mar. 2014.
"The Soloist." All Content. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar. 2014.