Review of The Soloist (2009) by Ed F — 01 Apr 2010
The Soloist, based on a true story, is an inspiriational yet extremelly mislead story that shows both Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. at their full potential. Robert Downey Jr. leads as Stephan Lopez, a Los Angelos Times columnist who has a fatal case of writer's block.
While walking in a park one day, he finds a homeless man, played by Jamie Foxx, playing beautiful music on a violin. Lopez discovers that the homeless man is a mentally ill musical prodigy, and he attempts to make the man's life better by giving him a cello and bringing him to a shelter.
Lopez's expirience with the homeless man gives him a subject to write about, and he writes an award winning article. Robert Downey Jr. gives a great performance with a character that has no depth or motives, and Jamie Foxx, whose given his chance at a "Rain Man"-like role, acts insane to the point of perfection.
Though Joe Wright adds some interesting cinematography, he has no clear line of focus through the entire film and his story-telling was incredibly flawed; there were too many back stories and random cliches to keep me fully sympathetic for the two leads.
The Soloist has some tantalizing visuals and good performances, but the characters are flat and the Oscar Bait story is in shambles. 58/100.
This review of The Soloist (2009) was written by Ed F on 01 Apr 2010.
The Soloist has generally received positive reviews.
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