True Story of Friendship

“The Soloist” is a dramatic, highly emotional tale based on a true story of a LA Times columnist, Steve Lopez, played by Robert Downey Jr. and the unlikely friendship of a mentally disturbed, homeless musical prodigy Nathaniel Ayers, Jamie Foxx. The film depicts the struggles of homelessness and explores the mental disorder schizophrenia. It’s also a story about friendship and being pro-active when faced with a disturbing issue. Catherine Keener plays Downey’s co worker and estranged love interest. A star studded ensemble indeed. The film is based on the book of the same name written by Steve Lopez.

The screening I attended began by featuring violin musicians from the Chicago musical ensemble ‘Anaphora’ who showcases classic and contemporary music. The soothing violin music created the perfect intro and mood for the film.

“The Soloist” opens by showing Downey in his LA Times office trying to come up with an idea for his newspaper column. He decides to take a walk and finds Jamie Foxx talking to a life-size bronze statue of Beethoven near the Disney Center in LA. Downy finds Fox engaging and unusual as details of his amazing life begin to unfold. Fox talks about his former days at Juilliard where he was enrolled as a student studying the cello. Director Joe Wright a British chap who also brought us “Atonement” relays the past life of Nathaniel Ayers through a series of flashbacks.

Downy checks out his story and discovers that indeed, Julliard College did have a student named Nathaniel Ayers although he left after 2 years. Downey becomes intrigued and begins to write a series of columns about Nathaniel and his situation. Soon, violins, cellos and other musical instruments are sent to the LA Times building. Steve Lopez’s column produces a huge amount of mail and interest in his new friend. The mayor of LA becomes interested as well and other musicians in the LA area take notice. Lopez is faced with the decision to continue with the friendship or move on the his next story. The heartwarming aspect of this film is the extra mile that Lopez goes to in order to truly help his new friend.

The flaws in the film are in the script and directing. Too little is known about each character as they really aren’t developed enough. Back story is provided concerning Nathaniel although clearly not enough. We are shown a series of flashbacks that are brief and confusing. What about his parents? What about his sister? Too many unanswered questions and too many loose ends in the film. We are really never sure what direction the film is taking at times or why we are going in a certain direction.

The issues in the film are important and deserve to be brought to the fore front. Several scenes in the film are touching and amazing. The lessons Lopez learns from Ayers are wonderful as in one conversation with a coworker when he proclaims, “I’ve never loved anything as much as he does music.” The film also teaches the importance of friendship as Lopez becomes frustrated with Ayers mental health condition and a doctor reminds him, “The simple act of being someone’s friend can improve brain chemistry.”

It would have been nice to have photos of the real Nathaniel Ayers and Steve Lopez at the end of the film with a short explanation as to what is happening in their lives. For further information, I would recommend reading, “The Soloist” by Steve Lopez as it goes into greater detail of all areas.

Sarah Adamson © 2009