The Soloist Review

I'm not sure why, but sometimes it seems like the most brilliant, creative minds can also be the most tortured. That's what I found with the characters in <i>The Soloist</i>, and realizing the brilliance of the actors that played them, I began to wonder if they were just as tortured.

Robert Downey, Jr., whom I consider one of the most brilliant actors of his generation if not "the" most brilliant actor of his generation, plays Steve Lopez, a columnist for the L.A. Times. Stuck for a column idea, he wanders out into the street and finds a homeless man (Jamie Foxx) playing a violin with just two strings. It's apparent he's troubled right away. When asked for his name, he says his name then spells it out, every letter and variation. "Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, Jr. N-A-T-H-A-N-I-E-L  A-N-T-H-O-N-Y A-Y-E-R-S J-U-N-I-O-R or J-R-Period." He also just starts talking and doesn't stop, somehow working in public education and Col. Sanders into the same conversation. 

After finding out that Nathaniel once attended Juilliard, Steve begins to see a column taking shape. He investigates and finds out that Nathaniel left the school after just a couple years because of a breakdown and schizophrenia, which later led to his homelessness. His extensive training is on the cello, but taught himself to play the violin with just two strings based on it being the only instrument available to him. After Steve writes the article, it brings both himself and Nathaniel notice. He spends the rest of the film trying to exhaustively to help this man that at times seems like he doesn't want help. At times he just wants to fix Nathaniel and get on with his real life, but something in him just won't allow him to not help this fellow creative mind.

These characters were made real to us on the screen through the fine acting of Downey, Jr. and Foxx, and knowing it to be a true story, just made it all the much more compelling. As the story unfolds, we find out more and more of Nathaniel's background and where it went wrong. He doesn't want this life any more than others want him to have it, but he just can't be comfortable any other way. The most important thing in the world to him is his musical expression, yet he can't function in a way that would honor that the most. We keep wanting his Steve to fix Nathaniel's life, but it doesn't happen, and we get just as frustrated as both the musician and the writer.

Yet when Nathaniel plays his music, it's the most beautiful thing, as even his mother's tells him she hears the voice of God when he plays. It's the same as when Steve writes his columns. He writes about this person, and we understand the person more. Only two creative minds could create musics and beautiful stories like this. The question is, could only truly brilliant actors be able to play such brilliant characters so well.