Review of The Soloist (2009) by Noah E — 24 Dec 2010
A memoir turned movie that just doesn't work under the direction. The Soloist is a film about a homeless Juilliard drop-out savant with schizophrenia who gets a second chance at the musical life he lost.
Though Downy Jr. and Foxx both have decent performances the subject matter is entirely too obnoxious to be one of those "moving" films about mental illness. Downy brings an overall air of humor to the movie, further discrediting it as a landmark film of the genre.
The director has really just put too much effort into making a sentimental film that touches on both mental illness and homelessness and ends up with a film filled with cliches and trite interactions by the characters.
The film tries to juggle the two main topics simultaneously, which ends up not working in either respect. This movie would have had much better success as a documentary and less of blockbuster-esque type of film.
Another large detriment to the film is the constant interrupting of a climax of emotion with a five minute Mozart instrumental piece. Overall, though the story is touching and the lead parts are acted well, the film just doesn't flow well overall.
This review of The Soloist (2009) was written by Noah E on 24 Dec 2010.
The Soloist has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
