Movie reviews for The Soloist
This is a well acted melancholy, and gripping biographical tale of the relationship between an investigational journalist and a down and out tramp.
It stars oscar winner Jamie Foxx(Dreamgirls) as Nathaniel Ayers a former student at the prestigious Juilliard school of the arts, but now out on his luck living on the streets which he has chosen to do (apparently Jamie Foxx took a chisel to his perfectly immaculate set of white teeth, to give an authentic look for the tramp, he said he looked at himself in the mirror rehearsing for the role, and said a tramp wouldn’t have such a perfect set of teeth. You have to admire the dedication), and Robert Downey Jr.(Iron man, Tropical Thunder) as journalist Steve Lopez.
We first meet Nathaniel as Steve Lopez is feeling a little sorry for himself, his arm in a cast after a previous accident, and simply looking to while the time, he is enchanted, as no doubt the audience by the seemingly well-disposed Nathaniel who sees the beauty even in the busy sidewalk where he plays his battered down violin with a few strings missing. Steve Lopez as many an investigate reporter checks out his story, and indeed confirms he was at the prestigious Julliard school of the arts.
In his attempts to aide Nathaniel settle into a life of normalcy and indeed start playing again in front of a respectable audience, you soon realise Nathaniel is certainly not balanced, and this is where the great acting permeates through, because you are never quite sure where Nathaniel well being is, one minute he is calm relaxed, and sociable, leaving you wonder how he could have got to such debts in the first place, and the next moment, you realise he is not well at all.
There is family for Nathaniel as Steve investigates(and no doubt the audience also wonders about) in the form of his sister Jennifer, played by the lovely Lisa Gay Hamilton(The sum of all fears), but it never deviates from the main thrust of the movie, the relationship between the unstable Nathaniel and the attempts to save him by his new friend Steve Lopez, and you are left on the edge of your seat hoping for the best but not being too optimistic.
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