Tuesday, October 27, 2009

The Soloist (2008) PG13 - 4 Stars

Very touching movie about humanity, based on the true story of Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, an inspiring cello prodigy who once studied at Julliard, only to wind up homeless on the streets, stricken by schizophrenia. Excellent acting by both Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr..

I'm listing this one in my racism category because most of society frowns and looks down upon the homeless population. Granted, many of the homeless population have just gotten too lazy. They have options to make a change in their lives, but for others who struggle with mental issues, they have a harder time achieving their full potential in life. And every now and then, you will meet one like, "The Soloist," who has great potential to become something better in life if only the voices inside his head would go away.

Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) is a journalist for the Los Angeles Times but he's bored with his life and his marriage has suffered because of it. While looking for an interesting story on the streets of Los Angeles, he stumbles upon a homeless African American man Nathaniel Anthony Ayers (Jamie Foxx), playing a violin, missing most of it's strings. But even with only two strings, Ayers is able to pluck a symphony out of it. Once Lopez hears Ayers play, he goes out of his way, almost making it his new goal in life, to get Ayers off the street and back into a concert hall.

Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks, Universal Pictures
Director: Joe Wright
Writers: Susannah Grant, Steve Lopez
Producers: Russ Krasnoff, Gary Foster
I viewed 10/09

1 comment:

Alan Christensen said...

Good storyline and makes you think more about others and things they go through! Who recommended this movie?? :)