Directed by our very own Sonny Bono Visionary Award honoree Joe Wright, The Soloist is based on a true story about LA Times writer Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) who builds a friendship with a mysterious street musician (Jamie Foxx, who presented Wright's award at the 2008 PSIFF Black Tie Awards Gala). It has been receiving buzz as the spring film to watch.
Read the LA Times series which inspired the film.
What did you think? Is it an early Oscar contender?
FAQs:
• Actor Jamie Foxx was trained for the role by LA Philharmonic cellist Ben Hong who is a friend of Nathaniel Ayers and thus familiar with his style; Alyssa Park trained him for the violin. Hong performed the cello tracks, altering his performance for each stage of Ayers' life.
• Extras were in fact pulled from homeless outreach centers, including the Lamp Community. SAG actors were mixed in when specialized skills were required.
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6 comments:
Inspiring and moving, and a decent portrayal of schizophrenia, ever a daunting task. The cinematographer (Seamus McGarvey)captured the "skid row" of Los Angeles perfectly, and the film translated the feelings of the book's author (Steve Lopez), without actually being the book. Robert Downey no longer amazes...he's just fabulous...it's starting to be expected of him, every time. Catherine Keener is pitch-perfect, and Jamie Foxx actually looks like a cellist. A remarkable film for this time of year.
A well made but ultimately unsatisfying film, mostly because it couldn't make up its mind as to what it was: a docudrama, an odd-couple relationship, a film about music, etc. It gave itself away at the end texts, which read like a "movie of the week" film about homelessness. But the I-tune Fantasia graphics to the Beethoven were stunning and courageous for a Hollywood film.
Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal of Lopez in the movie is really intense. From the time he careens off his bicycle and lands in the emergency room, to his interest, friendship and intense longing to help, and then to befriend the homeless, Ayers, portrayed by Jamie Foxx, you can feel his pain, frustration, anger, hopelessness and eventual resignation to "fix" things.
To see my full comments, go to Dave's Blog - The Soloist. http://dave92264.blogspot.com/2009/04/soloist.html
Robert Downey gave an Acadeny Award performance. He was Steve Lopez Jamie Foxx may have also had an award performance. The movie needes some cutting. It was draggy in several places. A great and very unflatterinly true depiction of downtown LA. Beautiful Beethoven. i could have done without the Fantasia like bit!
it makes sense that they would Robert Downey Jr. as an intellectual/journalist type, he was a similar character in Zodiac
Though some will find this film depressing, I found the ending as hopeful as real life can be; with reconciliation for Ayers and redemption for Lopez. Yes, the film deals with a difficult and painful subject. We would all rather look away from mental illness and homelessness. But Director Joe Wright provides an exquisite composition of street sounds and symphony strains, gutter grime and soaring birds, chaos and calm. We cannot look away. The acting was brilliant, the cinematography stunning, and the sound track extraordinary. I hope the release timing doesn’t put off Academy voters. This film deserves serious consideration.
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