Review of Solitary Man (2009) by Manny C — 20 Oct 2010

Oscar-worthy performances have been few and far between in 2010, but Michael Douglas deserves serious award attention for this triumphantly nuanced portrait of tormented, fast-talker Ben Kalmen, a car dealer in New York dealing with serious personal and professional catastrophes.

He specializes in bedding women of various ages, in order to deal with aging and a heart problem. One of those ladies is Allyson (Imogen Poots), the daughter of his mistress (Mary-Louise Parker). His own daughter (Jenna Fischer), won't speak to him.

Ditto his ex-wife (Susan Sarandon, wonderful). The only person willing to make any sort of connection with him is Daniel Cheston (Jesse Eisenberg), a student who tries to learn the art of seduction from Ben until he sees how outdated he is.

Even when Ben hits bottom, and is stuck working at a diner owned by an old friend (Danny DeVito, awesome) he still can't face the reality of his life. The screenplay from co-director Brian Koppleman, directing with David Levien, is an amazing blend of stinging wit and wisdom.

There are bumps in the road, but overall the movie works, with Michael Douglas delivering a tour de force, grabbing his best role since 2007's King of California. It's fantastic to see an actor of Douglas' caliber, who's been working for over three decades now, digging into a role like this with such bite and relish.

Oscar, take note.