...
Mary - Catherine Keener
The acting from both of the main actors was incredible. Jamie Foxx played the homeless and very crazy Nathaniel brilliantly and you wouldn't think twice about avoiding him if you actually happened to come across him on the street. He wore the most outrageous clothes ... Read review
In The Soloist an emotionally soaring drama about the redemptive power of music ... more
journalist Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) discovers Nathaniel Anthony Ayers (Oscar'‚ winner Jamie Foxx) a former classical music prodigy playing his violin on the stre...
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In The Soloist an emotionally soaring drama about the redemptive power of music ... more
journalist Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) discovers Nathaniel Anthony Ayers (Oscar'‚ winner Jamie Foxx) a former classical music prodigy playing his violin on the streets of L.A. As Lopez endeavors to help the homeless man find his way back a unique friendship is formed one that transforms both their lives.
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When Steve Lopez sees Nathaniel Ayers playing his heart out on a two-string violin on Los ... more
Angeles' skid row he finds it impossible to walk away. More than thirty years ago Ayers was a promising student at Julliard - ambitious charming and hugely talented - until he gradually lost his ability to function overcome by schizophrenia. When Lopez finds him Ayers is homeless and paranoid but glimmers of his earlier brilliance are still there. Over time the two men form a bond and Lopez imagines that he might be able to change Ayer's life. For each triumph there is a crashing disappointment yet neither man gives up. Their friendship will changes both of their lives in ways that neither could predict. Poignant and ultimately hopeful "The Soloist" is a beautifully told story of devotion in the face of seemingly unbeatable challenges and the inspiring power of music.
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Production Year: 1993 - Drama - Director: Steven Spielberg - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Caroline Goodall, Embeth Davidtz, Ben Kingsley, Jonathan Sagalle
Production Year: 1989 - Drama - Director: Ken Cameron - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Nicole Kidman, Denholm Elliott, Hugo Weaving, Joy Smithers, Norman Kaye, Jerome Ehlers, Judy Morris
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Advantages: Very powerful and moving story, outstanding acting Disadvantages: Too long and very slow
...ill homeless man but behind the rough exterior is an ex-Juilliard student with an extraordinary musical talent. Steve's first story on Nathaniel seems to capture the hearts of his readers, who send Nathaniel a new instrument to play on rather than his violin with only two strings. Steve sets out to make a better life for his new trusting friend but his good intentions aren't always met warmly when Nathaniel has to deal with the harsh realities of ... ...Keener
The acting from both of the main actors was incredible. Jamie Foxx played the homeless and very crazy Nathaniel brilliantly and you wouldn't think twice about avoiding him if you actually happened to come across him on the street. He wore the most outrageous clothes and pulled around a shopping trolley full of random objects that he'd picked up from all over the city. You could see the different emotions running around in his ... more
When Los Angeles journalist, Steve Lopez, discovers Nathaniel Ayres, he is filled with inspiration. Nathaniel is a mentally ill homeless man but behind the rough exterior is an ex-Juilliard student with an extraordinary musical talent. Steve's first story on Nathaniel seems to capture the hearts of his readers, who send Nathaniel a new instrument to play on rather than his violin with only two strings. Steve sets out to make a better life for his new trusting friend but his good intentions aren't always met warmly when Nathaniel has to deal with the harsh realities of his past and living on the streets.
~ Cast ~ Nathaniel Ayers - Jamie Foxx Steve Lopez - Robert Downey Jr. Mary - Catherine Keener
The acting from both of the main actors was incredible. Jamie Foxx played the homeless and very crazy Nathaniel brilliantly and you wouldn't think twice about avoiding him if you actually happened to come across him on the street. He wore the most outrageous clothes and pulled around a shopping trolley full of random objects that he'd picked up from all over the city. You could see the different emotions running around in his head and, although he was shy and paranoid, which you could see from his body language, he would go off into a world of his own and would not be able to stop talking. He would ramble on for ages about nothing in particular and just to watch him talking nonsense was pretty mesmerizing. Foxx managed to make me really believe that he was a crazy homeless guy and I really felt for his character.
Robert Downey Jr. also played his part brilliantly being an optimistic and head-strong journalist. He portrays his emotions so well that I found myself having the same feelings as Steve did towards Nathaniel - at first caring for and befriending him and then feeling anger and impatience when he wouldn't do something Steve asked of him.
I could sympathise with both characters' feelings and this is partly what made the film so powerful. The main reason it was such a powerful film though was due to the story which, being based on a true one, makes it even more powerful. It is a very moving story and one that inspires you to make you want to go out and help someone.
Despite the good things about the film, there were a few bad too. I found it contained far too many slow and dull moments where I'd start getting fidgety in my seat and the film was far too long. Despite the story only being set over a short amount of time in the two characters' lives, I found that it dragged way too much and not much actually went on during it. This isn't a film for those who like a lot of action and drama as nothing much really even happens the whole way through.
This was a very good film, if a little long and slow, and the two main actors were what made it. A wonderfully inspirational, powerful and moving film.
Running time: 117 minutes Certificate rating: 12A Director: Joe Wright
Advantages: Brilliant performanes, nice music Disadvantages: Slightly too long
The Soloist focuses on the true life story of Nathaniel Ayres, played by Jamie Foxx, whose life story is portrayed on the big screen due to LA journalist Steve Lopez, played by Robert Downey Jr. Steve Lopez is a hard journalist to please. Divorced from the editor of the paper, Steve sets out to reveal local people in his column who have had a bad run of luck. Nathaniel Ayres was and is a musical prodigy who, having come from the famous Julliard school, ... ...which has made him into the fun-loving, caring, but very lonely street walker and sleeper that he is today. Lopez and Ayres become friends after a lunch time encounter when Ayres is playing a violin with only two strings. What follows is two hours of hard hitting rollercoaster emotion as Lopez helps Ayres battle with his mental illness and tries to entice him back into a normal way of life, getting him to do the thing he loves and to share his gift ...
welling 01.11.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Soloist (DVD)
Advantages: Great storyline & Great acting Disadvantages: Nothing major
...on a true story. The film is rated a certificate 12, and is approximately two hours long.
** THE PLOT **
Robert Downey Jnr plays the part of Steve Lopez, who is a journalist for the LA Times. He happens upon a homeless man by accident one day, whose bizarre appearance and strange behaviour cause Steve to become curious when speaking to the man.
The homeless man is called Nathaniel Ayers, and is played by Jamie Foxx. When Nathaniel produces a violin ... ...music for Steve, this causes the journalist to be interested in the man behind the music.
Deciding to do a story on Nathanial, Steve must earn his trust and overlook the barrier of Nathanial’s mental illness. When he discovers that Nathanial’s illness caused him to miss out on his music career the first time around, Steve becomes involved in allowing him to play to his full potential, and an unlikely friendship between the two men develops as a ...
Wee_Jackie_163 17.12.2009 (18.12.2009)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Soloist (DVD)
...Jamie Lee Fox's homeless musician. The homeless guy is a former Julliard student who plays beautiful Cello, and so begins a series of newspaper stories. The film is based on a true story, and to be fair it's pretty remarkable, but it's so predictable I just got bored with it. There's no doubt that the two stars are excellent actors, but for me their roles were never developed enough to give them the chance to shine on the screen, and the result is ... ...getting an Oscar. The pace of the film is another one of the problems; the first hour is fine, but then it's like you've seen all there is to see, and at that point you can't help but think 'what now?' The answer is (sadly) more of the same, and this leaves you pretty bored by the end. All in all, this film is just too shallow and naïve to do justice to a story that could have done so much more. ...
bruffyboy 11.09.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The Soloist (DVD)
Contains one use of strong language, moderate threat and drug use
Video Category
Feature Film
Country Of Origin
United States of America
Plot
Hollywood heavyweights Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. team up in this drama based on a true story. Foxx (RAY) stars as Nathaniel Ayers, a homeless man with remarkable musical talent, and Downey Jr. (IRON MAN) plays a writer who realizes the man's gift. ATONEMENT and PRIDE AND PREJUDICE filmmaker Joe Wright moves away from historical Britain to direct this film.
This film version takes a somewhat romanticized view of both journalism and skid row yet is nevertheless a compassionate and compelling look at mental illness (Hollywood Reporter, 21/05/2009)
A deeply empathetic exploration of mental illness and a winning showcase for the talents of its two stars, Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx (Time Magazine, 21/05/2009)
DVD Description
Academy Award-nominated ATONEMENT director Joe Wright teams with screenwriter Susannah Grant to tell the true-life story of Nathaniel Ayers, a former cello prodigy whose bouts with schizophrenia landed him on the streets after two years of schooling at Juilliard. Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) is a disenchanted journalist stuck in a dead-end job. His marriage to a fellow journalist having recently come to an end, Steve is wandering through Los Angeles' Skid Row when he notices a bedraggled figure playing a two-stringed violin. The figure in question is Ayers (Jamie Foxx), a man whose promising career in music was cut short due to a debilitating bout with mental illness. The more Lopez learns about Ayers, the greater his respect grows for the troubled soul. How could a man with such remarkable talent wind up living on the streets, and not be performing on-stage with a symphony orchestra? Later, as Lopez embarks on a quixotic quest to help Ayers pull his life together and launch a career in music, he gradually comes to realize that it is not Ayers whose life is being transformed, but his own.
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