Review of Solitary Man (2009) by Jason K — 14 Sep 2011

When faced with death how would you react? When confronted with a reminder of your mortality, do you face it or run away from it? That answer is the driving force in Solitary Man. One mans answer upends his life and threatens to leave him broken and alone.

Michael Douglas' character is informed that his tests look a little off, and they want to perform more. He walks out. He never takes the test. He later says that there is no point knowing when his heart will explode. He's just going to live his life.

Fast forward 6 years. He runs from his ok'd age. He cheats on his loving wife, gets arrested for scamming in his car dealership, screws women younger than his daughter, and lives like a teenager while on the far side of middle age.

Few other than Michael Douglas could portray such a selfish, arrogant, asshole and still make him sympathetic. Similar to his Wonder Boys character. He speaks his mind, going as far as too insult the girl the next morning after a one night stand.

I find it interesting that behavior can be the same at two different points in a lifespan, and that changes our perception. Why should a man in his late 50s be judged harsher than a 20something doing the same?

The film takes us through a few weeks of his life. He ruins everything, and what kittle hope he had to turn it around, he messes that up too. He's burned every bridge. He hits rock bottom.

My only disappointment was the last shot. What could have been an ambiguous ending is made to overt by the soundtrack and score. If it had remained silent, and just supplied the noise of the background, I felt it would've been a much more character driven ending.