Great Film overall

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I really wondered what the point of this movie was, and about two-thirds of the way through the light dawned. This is a "message" movie, and the message is a poisonous one.Sometime in the 60's we as a nation became revolted at conditions in our mental institutions, which were indeed horrific and grotesque. This is where society had warehoused everyone whose mental conditions were so extreme that even their own families could not cope with them. Government being what it is, it was never to be expected that these poor souls would get compassionate treatment.So it was decided to grant these individuals their "rights" and release them all to the street. There was supposed to be a wave of neighborhood mental health clinics to look after them; that never transpired. As a result these poor souls now live in the street and often pose a safety risk to others. Jails and prisons are now the front line in dealing with the mentally ill.Unfortunately a whole movement has arisen advocating for the "rights" of these people to live as they are, i.e. as mentally unbalanced people. The sad thing is that, with proper medication, many of these folks could be restored to some semblance of normality.In clearly siding with the "right" of Nathaniel not to be medicated, this movie, in my view, sends a very toxic message whose upshot is that these people should be allowed to live their lives of misery and to continue to pose a threat to - dare I utter the word? - "normal" people. The issue of how we deal with our mentally ill is a complex and thorny one, but I don't think it's useful to maintain that it's just dandy not to treat them.

'The Soloist' is one of those movies that pieces you together. I came across this title on reading Robert Downey Jr's biography. This is one of his most sincere portrayals. This is based on a book written by Steve Lopez. Downey plays Steve Lopez. The chemistry between Downey & Foxx is mystical. Both come together in the most unusual way. The movie explores one of the most debated topic; does a mentally ill person need medications to get better, is love and emotional support not way more powerful? Both characters feed off each other's friendship, making each a better person. The film puts forth a pertinent question; how many other Nathaniel Ayers lurk around, clueless and lost? Life is unpredictable. We may never truly know the answer to this question. However this movie is all about a gem found after being hidden for ever so long. This is by no means a fairy tale movie. Ayers does not get better in a jiffy. However his find, road to recovery & his attempt to refit into the society, not just helps him but Lopez too. Worth a watch. Does your heart a great good! :)

SPOILERS MAJOR MAJOR SPOILERS My classmate and I were asked to write a review on the soloist. Within minutes we knew that this was going to be a powerful movie. At first when I was assigned to watch this, movie it seemed a little odd. It didn't really relate to my project topic, but we still watched it anyways. After watching this movie, it made me believe to never give up on our dreams even if you fail the first time around. Steve is a writer for the LA Times and is currently going through divorce. Nathaniel Ayers is a homeless man skid row who has an amazing talent. He is a phenomenal violinist who attended the Juliard School of Music but had to leave because of his struggles with his mental illnesses. When Steve Lopez first meets Nathaniel, he comes across him in a park in Los Angeles playing the violin. Nathaniel seems very intelligent but there are clear sign of an illness. We soon learn that Nathaniel has schizophrenia. He decided to write an article about him in the paper. Steve wanted to learn more about Nathaniel for the article so he contacted his sister. He learned that Nathaniel is a cello prodigy. After one of Steves readers reads about this in the paper, they kindly give Steve a brand new cello for Nathaniel to play. Through out the movie Steve is constantly pushing for Nathaniel to get help for his conditions and for him to get back up on his feet. After an Innocent where Nathaniel loses his temper, he blows an opportunity for his music. Steve arranges for Nathaniel to get help but Nathaniel things he is doing it on his own. When Nathaniel learns that Steve is apart of it, he blows up at Steve and tells him to leave him alone. After Steve speaks to his ex wife Mary, He realizes that not only has he changes Nathaniel's if for the better but Nathaniel has also changes Steve in ways too. My favorite scene was when Steve gave Nathaniel the cello. It really stand out as a token to their friendship and the love someone can give to someone without even knowing them. The movie is about how to build good relationships with the people around you. Treat other how you would like to be treated.

It's 2005. Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) is looking for his next subject to write about. He discovers mentally ill Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx) playing his broken violin. He befriends the homeless musician and begins to write about him as well as the homeless of LA. Nathaniel showed some skills as a child and concentrated on music and nothing else. He got as far as Juilliard but dropped out in his second year.There are two good performances from two great actors. It's too bad there isn't something more compelling or that the story isn't told better. I wonder if Nathaniel's life story told straight up wouldn't be better. This is based on the real newspaper columns. Maybe there is too much Steve Lopez. The movie is more about him than Nathaniel. There is way too much about coyote urine which is marginally amusing at best. The story just needs to find that compelling flow.The best part of the movie are the LA skid row scenes. The mass of mentally disturbed is quite shocking and seems like an unreal creation. That's something different at least.