Review of Solitary Man (2009) by Mitch Q — 16 Sep 2010

I predict this to be the year of Michael Douglas. He's back as the Oscar winning god of greed Gordon Gekko in the forthcoming "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" - and a more anticipated return of a cinematic bad man I cannot imagine. Earlier this year, though, Douglas quietly hit arthouse cinemas with absolutely one of his very best performances in "Solitary Man" (now available on DVD).

A small film that looms large in near Shakespearean proportions, "Solitary Man" begins with Douglas's Ben Kalmen on top of the world: a successful car dealership mogul with a loving family and plenty of celebrity. And thus begins a fascinating, downward spiraling journey of a man trying to recapture the promise of his youth, even though he's already been living it. Kalmen is a trainwreck you can't take your eyes off-- partially because it's easy to be swept up in his devil-may-care-attitude, and partially because of the fact that he never stops selling. Selling himself, his philosophies, and every bit of action and repercussion that is swirling around him.

We like Ben in that we can see he is canny and perceptive, and is sometimes spot on in his assessment of those around him and what they need - or, as he likes to say, "what do you hope to get out of the transaction?". At the same, we loathe him, because he seems to have lost his ability to really care about others, reducing them to things that can be bought and sold. When he's wrong, he's very wrong, and Ben's dogged determination to always be closing (he'd fit right in with Mamet's desperate real estate salesmen from "Glengarry Glenn Ross") opens a hornets nest of trapdoors beneath him. Here's a man in free fall who is content to observe the act of falling, as opposed to trying desperately to slow or even reverse his descent.

That the film works is, yes, a result of a near-perfect script and competent direction, but ultimately its success rests squarely on the shoulders of Douglas. The performance is a tightwire act - we could easily hate Kalmen, and then the film would be lost. But Douglas is too good, seems to know this kind of character too well. He's like a lower rent Gordon Gekko, a man of great talent and charisma who knows it, but can't keep his flaws at bay. In his 60s, Douglas looks good enough to pull off the ladykiller thing, and has the chops to show us the ticking of his mind in the midst of making huge life-altering decisions. It's a work of bravado and subtlety, and should put MD in prime contention for a second Oscar this winter. Or perhaps a third - we still got ol' Gordo a coming. Enjoy your year, Michael - you've earned it.