The Soloist - Universal / Dreamworks

I went to see a few movies this week so, I thought I'd jot down some notes on what I thought about them. I'm usually the action/adventure type person . . especially the comic based movies, but my wife really wanted to see this one, so . . I have to give in every now and then. Right? Anyways, this movie is about an LA reporter, Steve Lopez and a homeless man he meets, Nathaniel Ayers. When it comes down to it, these 2 men are in similar situations, although their circumstances are drastically different. Steve is a reporter who, I felt, loved what he did. The problem is, it's a tough living. You're always looking for the next story, and you're only as good as your last one. To make matters worse, he works for his ex-wife. It's not a terrible situation, but . . she's always reminding him about his short-comings . . or at least what she viewed in their marriage. And, with the internet and all, there's always the threat of lay-offs or cut-backs. Basically, he's a prisoner of his job . . corporate America. On the other hand, Nathaniel is schizophrenic and because he can't afford meds or treatment, he ends up homeless. However, he's a music prodigy. And this is what brings him to Steve's attention. He's also doing what he loves . . playing music, but . . when it comes down to it he is also a prisoner. A prisoner of his own mind. To me, there were 2 main struggles in the movie. First Steve isn't looking to care about this person, he just wants a good story . . one that's worth printing. So he starts digging into Nathaniel's past and finds out that he had actually gone to Julliard. He wasn't there long though because that's about the same time that his mind started putting him through turmoil. He still had all of his talent, he just couldn't deal with the people, or the pressure, or any other number of things. And he finds out that his sister is still around. The problem is, it's hard for anyone to get this intimate with someone, learning their personal information, dealing with their ups and downs, and not become personally involved. On the other hand, from Nathaniel's point of view, this is probably the first person that's paid him this much attention in quite a while. Afterall, to most of us, homeless people are invisible. Or we want them to be. Anyways, Nathaniel starts to form an emotional attachment to Steve. Even though he knows that feelings are one of the things he has a hard time dealing with. So now Steve has to deal with the fact that he cares about Nathaniel, even though he didn't want to, and he's formed an attachment, which his ex-wife is all to willing to point out that he's not very good at. With Steve's attention and prodding, Nathaniel begins to hope and dream. Even though he knows that going to take him back down the path of dealing with things he's not ready to deal with. And of course, with all of this raw emotion there ends up being a violent confrontation . . basically Nathaniel attacks Steve out of anger, hurt and frustration. In the end they end up becoming friends, and from what I understand they are right up to this day. The movie had a lot of emotions in it. You like Steve, you hate Steve, you feel sorry for Steve. Nathaniel is a really complex character. He's a character that most of us don't want to deal with, and don't really want to learn anything about. However, once we do . . it's hard not to like the guy. He's a man dealing with a disease, just like a lot of people. His just happens to be more 'in your face'. He doesn't look or act like a 'normal' person. I thought Robert Downey Jr and Jamie Foxx played their parts brilliantly. They were both very believable, and you could feel their angst and frustration throughout the whole movie. My only complaint is that, as a viewer, you're on an emotional roller-coaster throughout the movie. But, that's ok. That's what the movie should do. Where I think the problem lay, is the movie tried to address to many themes. At times it was hard to tell specifically which theme was making you angry, or sad, or frustrated. There was a lot of stuff being thrown at you in this movie. The basic story, I thought, was great. I think it just got a little muddled with all the subtext. But, that being said, I think it's definitely a movie that everyone should see. If for no other reason than for people to realize that homeless people are real people. They aren't any less real than any of us. Their circumstances are just different. And we all need to remember . . " . . there, but for the grace of god . ."