Review of The Soloist (2009) by Johanna L — 23 Sep 2013

There are 90,000 homeless people in the Ground Los Angeles Area, but how many of them are schizophrenic? We get to follow a true story about a genius who developed schizophrenia and later become homeless.

In the streets of Los Angeles Steve Lopez search for the next story to write about. By coincidence he meets Nathaniel, a deranged homeless man who plays the violin beautifully. There is something about Nathaniel that Lopez can't shake off, and he decides to look into his story.

"The Soloist" is off to a great start. The characters introduction is brief and interesting, but it doesn't get further than that. The story loses its touch somewhere in the middle and it just drags on. The extra spice to take it to another level isn't present. It's just bland. Neither boring nor interesting. The ending is predictable and the in-between as well. Robert Downey Jr. plays his usual neurotic character and Jamie Foxx is spectacular as Nathaniel.

The streets of Los Angeles is full with homeless people, and in this movie we get to see a side of them you usually don't get to see, the mental picture. So many homeless people ends up as Nathaniel, they live a normal life until they develop a mental illness. It's just brief, but these encounters lets the viewer take a closer look how problematic it is today with all the diagnoses and medicine people presumes is going to cure someone. It isn't that easy, and "The Soloist" shows us that.

It feels like it should be something more. Something awaiting around the corner that will blow my mind away. But there's not. It's just the regular walk outside without something spectacular. That is the feeling "The Soloist" will give you. Quite nice, but were expecting more.