The Soloist

Director:

Joe Wright

Writers:

Susannah Grant
Steve Lopez

Starring:

Jamie Foxx
Robert Downey Jr.

Rating:

PG-13

Qutoes:

You only got two strings.
I have had a few setbacks.
I have never loved anything the way he loves music.
Nathanial has one thing going for him right now a friend.

The Soloist is about an old discarded Juilliard musician that has had some really bad breaks. He is living on the streets with an old battered and falling apart two string violin to play. Not to mention he is in a world of his own with a bad case of schizophrenia. When one day “Robert Downey Jr.” is strolling around town trying to find the next perfect story to win the hearts of his L.A. readers, he stumbles into Nathaniel Ayers “Jamie Foxx”. Playing his instrument in front of erected statue of Ludwig Von Beethoven on his old worn violin. He soon discovers that maybe this homeless man is no ordinary bum. He has to have a story behind him, a tale that people would love to hear. His job is on the line and this might be what he needs to bring his column back into popularity.

He goes back to office to start to research Ayers to verify his story that was told to him. A little research goes a long way and finds out that he had never graduated from Juilliard, but was a student. He starts to realize that this man needs to be helped, that such talent should not be lost on the streets of Los Angles.

The Soloist is a heart wrenching film showing people what a little bit of compassion and care can really do.
It is a true story based of the book by Steve Lopez and his encounter with finding a musical genius homeless on the streets. Forgotten by all and lost in the numbers of homeless people that live on the streets everyday. Somehow society has lost more and more of the humanity everyday and do not realize that these people need more help then they are receiving. The cutbacks alone just in my own city of Chicago for homeless shelters is just amazing. The amount of shelters and services is dwindling and leaving the less fortunate in the dust. The performance by Jamie Foxx is once again, is one that has you believing that he really is the troubled soul left on the streets, and one of the best of this year. The interaction between him and Robert Downey Jr. let you experience the strange relationship so closely that you cannot help but feel concerned for both of the characters. Not totally true to the book it is a story that needed to be told and will reach more people now that is on screen for all to see.