DreamWorks |2009 | 117 mins | Rated PG-13
Hollywood loves stories involving people with mental or physical handicaps. The list of Oscar winners is littered with actors who played disabled characters: Jane Wyman as a deaf-mute rape victim in Johnny Belinda (1948), Joanne Woodward as a woman who suffers from dissociative identity disorder in The Three Faces of Eve (1957), Patty Duke as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker (1962) and Dustin Hoffman as an autistic savant in Rain Man (1988), to name a few.
This trend isn’t necessarily s bad thing. All of the films listed above are fine movies. As a matter of fact, sometimes when Hollywood filmmakers set out to make a film they hope will get the attention of the Academy; they end up turning in some of their finest work. That brings us to The Soloist, directed by award-winning filmmaker Joe Wright (Atonement). Based on the book by Los Angeles Times writer Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.), the story follows his attempts to help a homeless man, named Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx). Ayers, a classically trained Julliard musician, is suffering from schizophrenia and tormented by years of shock treatments; he has moved from Cleveland to Los Angeles so he can play his music on the streets all year round.
From the start, it’s clear that Lopez has his own set of troubles. He and his ex-wife (Catherine Keener) still have issues they haven’t resolved, he has a non-existent relationship with his college age son, he’s having trouble coming up with ideas from a new column and he’s had a pretty horrendous accident on his bicycle. Lopez first encounters Ayers near the Times building, enraptured by the beautiful music he is hearing. Lopez learns that he once studied at Julliard and decides to write a column about him and the response is tremendous. A reader sends Lopez a cello for him (this actually happened) and the two begin to form some sort of bond.
Driven by the public’s response, Lopez decides to help Ayers as much as he can. He tries to plead with different people to force Nathaniel to get medical treatment and take medicine. However, it soon becomes clear, Nathaniel isn’t seeking help for the illness and it’s impossible to force him to. Instead, Ayers is enjoying Lopez’s friendship and looks upon him as a brother.
Like countless Hollywood films before The Soloist, audiences likely expect Nathaniel’s world to become a brighter one of musical accomplishment; I thought perhaps the end would have him playing a concert with the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra; instead, Director Joe Wright and screenplay writer Susannah Grant (Catch and Release) avoid making the audience leave the movie with a warm and fuzzy feeling, in favor of the hard truth. Despite his best efforts, Lopez is unable to “fix” Ayers and bring his talent to the masses, as he had hoped. What he is able to do, is provide friendship and some sense of stability for Nathaniel, which may be the best gift Lopez could have given him.
While the film is disjointed at times, it actually feels right given the subject matter. This is a story about schizophrenia, so naturally things aren’t going to be very smooth. More importantly, The Soloist is a tale about compassion and understanding mental illness. It takes Lopez quite a while to understand that what Nathaniel needs most is a friend who can look past the limitations of his illness.
Jamie Foxx delivers a splendid performance as Nathaniel Ayers. Much like his Oscar winning turn in Ray, Fox seems to literally becomes the character. While Robert Downey, Jr. plays a suave, slightly troubled character similar to the one he played in Zodiac, his performance still manages to pack an emotional punch.
The Soloist comes to Blu-ray with a high quality 1080p, 2.39:1-framed transfer. The film features remarkable clarity. The transfer delivers natural and accurate colors that carry over to flesh tones. Textures on objects such as walls, feature that “reach out and touch me” sort of appearance. Detail is solid. Depth is a strong suit; long-distance objects tend to look sharp and distinct with solid visible detail. Grain is never too heavy. Blacks are strong and contrast is good. Blu-ray fans should be satisfied with this strong effort from DreamWorks.
The Soloist plays on Blu-ray with a very good Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Ambience is one of the track’s strong suits; most every scene comes alive with some sort of environmental support that places the listener directly into the midst of each scene. An interior hospital shot early in the film offers up chatter, rolling gurneys, mechanical beeps, and ringing telephones that fill the soundstage with realistic effects. The track’s most prominent feature, of course, comes in the form of the many scenes featuring Nathaniel — or some cases others and even entire orchestras — playing instruments. The melodic strings of the cello flow through the soundstage with positively stunning results, allowing the listener to absorb every note. Also delivering crystal-clear dialogue reproduction, The Soloist makes for a strong and well-mixed soundtrack.
The Soloist has a nice slate of special features:
• Audio Commentary with Director Joe Wright: Wright talks about the films themes, locations, sound design, music, etc.
• An Unlikely Friendship: Making The Soloist (1080i, 19:37) examines how the film came together, beginning with a look at the column that inspired the movie (including interview clips with the real Steve Lopez), the producers’ meeting with Nathaniel Ayers, the challenge of the roles, the assembly of particular scenes, the film’s authenticity, Foxx’s exposure to the cello and the film’s ending.
• Kindness, Courtesy and Respect: Mr. Ayers + Mr. Lopez (1080i, 4:48) The real-life Ayers, Lopez, and Ayers’ sister Jennifer recount their story that inspired the film.
• One Size Does Not Fit All: Addressing Homelessness in Los Angeles (1080i, 9:45) examines the plight of L.A.’s homeless population and their role in inspiring the film.
• Juilliard: The Education of Nathaniel Ayers (1080i, 4:08) recalls an encounter between Ayers and famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma and several other graduates that contributed to the film.
• Beth’s Story (1080p, 2:02), a short animated piece on homelessness.
• Deleted Scenes (480p, 9:49) five in total.
• Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:33).
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