The Soloist

The Soloist is a captivating film that captures the joy of a simple friendship and encompasses the entanglement of mental illness and the harsh reality of homelessness.  Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) is pressing for an idea for his article for the Los Angeles Times, until he discovers Nathaniel Ayers, played by Jamie Foxx.  Nathaniel is a mentally ill homeless street musician, who just so happens to be extraordinarily skilled in music even through his half broken violin.  Inspired by Nathaniel’s story, Lopez decides to write a series of articles about Nathaniel.  The story flashes the audience back to Nathaniel’s childhood and we discover the beginning of his mental illness.  Although Lopez has good intentions, he begins to understand the truth of Nathaniel’s past and current illness and the frustrations of injustices for the homeless.

Joe Wright (director) takes the book, written by Steven Lopez (the real Steve Lopez), and masterfully creates a film displaying the reality of a debilitating mental illness by incorporating visual and auditory hallucinations within the film, that seem to describe the illness to its max.  The audience is able to understand exactly what Nathaniel is hearing and seeing, which only makes the emotional attachment to this homeless man all the more surreal.  Jamie Foxx is flawless in this film by becoming a man that the audience not only loves and cares for, but is truly inspired by.

The movie depicts the social frustrations of the homeless culture, and the injustices that they must face.  I think it’s important for audiences to see how this homeless world functions.  This movie is primarily about the loyalty of two friends and the power that friendship can have over the mind.  Grab your Kleenex boxes, cause you might need them!  Although it was hard for Lopez to understand Nathaniel’s illness and culture, I think Catherine Keener’s character (Mary Weston), summed it up nicely when she told Lopez that “You can’t cure him, Just show up for him.”