The Soloist - Movie Review and Synopsis
In Los Angeles, reporter Steve Lopez (Downey Jr.) befriends Nathaniel Ayers (Foxx), a brilliant but troubled musician and one-time Julliard student who currently lives on Skid Row. In a series of revealing articles, Lopez draws attention to Ayers’s remarkable story, while Ayers still dreams of a grand performance at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
In mid-October of last year, Paramount made the decision to push Jamie Foxx and Co. from their movie’s Oscar-friendly berth to this new date. Why? Crowded marketplace, I’m assuming (for now, though I’m digging for more info). Reports indicate P’mount might still let the film qualify for Oscars with a quiet, awards-qualifying release at year’s end, which, provided some nominations come through, could turn this into a springtime hit. Either way, it should be quite something to watch Atonement director Joe Wright deftly move between time periods in to tell Ayers’s remarkable story (get some background here). Bank on top-notch performances from Foxx, Downey Jr., and Keener (who plays Steve Lopez’s wife), as well as a layered screenplay from Susannah Grant (Erin Brokovich).
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, some drug use and language.
Director: Joe Wright
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey Jr., Catherine Keener
Studio: DreamWorks SKG
Release Date: 24 April 2009 (USA)
Genre: Drama, Biography, Music
In I Love You, Man, a comedy from John Hamburg (Along Came Polly, co-writer of Meet The Parents, Meet The Fockers, Zoolander), Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd, Knocked Up The 40 Year Old Virgin) is a successful real estate agent who, upon getting engaged to the woman of his dreams, Zooey, (The Offices Rashida Jones), discovers, to his dismay and chagrin, that he has no male friend close enough to serve as his Best Man. Peter immediately sets out to rectify the situation, embarking on a series of bizarre and awkward man-dates, before meeting Sydney Fife (Jason Segel, Forgetting Sarah Marshall), a charming, opinionated man with whom he instantly bonds. But the closer the two men get, the more Peters relationship with Zooey suffers, ultimately forcing him to choose between his fiancée and his new found bro, in a story that comically explores what it truly means to be a friend.
After her mother’s death and her subsequent hospital stay, Anna Rydell (Browning) returns home to be with her sister (Krebbel) and her father (Strathairn), who has become engaged to Rachel (Banks), her mother’s former nurse. During her first night back, Anna is visited by her mother’s ghost, who reveals that the new woman in her father’s life is not who she pretends to be, leading to a fateful confrontation between the women of the house.
