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Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey Jr., Catherine Keener, Tom Hollander, Lisa Gay Hamilton ... see more see more... , Rachael Harris , Stephen Root , Nelsan Ellis , Jena Malone

Academy Award-nominated Atonement director Joe Wright teams with screenwriter Susannah Grant to tell the true-life story of Nathaniel Ayers, a former cello prodigy whose bouts with schizophrenia lande... read more read more...d him on the streets after two years of schooling at Juilliard. Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) is a disenchanted journalist stuck in a dead-end job. His marriage to a fellow journalist having recently come to an end, Steve is wandering through Los Angeles' Skid Row when he notices a bedraggled figure playing a two-stringed violin. The figure in question is Ayers (Jamie Foxx), a man whose promising career in music was cut short due to a debilitating bout with mental illness. The more Lopez learns about Ayers, the greater his respect grows for the troubled soul. How could a man with such remarkable talent wind up living on the streets, and not be performing on-stage with a symphony orchestra? Later, as Lopez embarks on a quixotic quest to help Ayers pull his life together and launch a career in music, he gradually comes to realize that it is not Ayers whose life is being transformed, but his own. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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58% liked it

259,796 ratings

Critics

56% liked it

199 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 49 min.

Directed by: Joe Wright

Release Date: April 24, 2009

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DVD Release Date: August 4, 2009

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Stats: 10,364 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (10,364)

  • danperry17
    January 5, 2012
    danperry17
    I had low expectations for this movie, based on bad reviews, but in all, it wasn't that bad. The acting was solid - Robert Downey Jr. really is a talent, and Jamie Foxx embraced a challenging role - and the visual treatment was interesting, wandering away from the narrative in pl... read moreaces just to throw in odd moments of beauty. The story is one you've heard a hundred times, but for a one-time watch, there's no reason this forgettable movie's any worse than the many like it that have come before. Nothing really original, but not a failure, either. I give it one big "Mmmmeh."
  • jamers2011
    December 25, 2011
    jamers2011
    Okay film...
  • SirPant
    November 21, 2011
    SirPant
    The Soloist was a huge disappointment for me, as the trailer had made it look great. OK, so Jamie Foxx's performance was very good, and if Steve Lopez is as unlikable in real life as I suspect, Robert Downey Jr played him perfectly. The problem is that it tries to hard to pull at... read more the heart strings and fails miserably. The film flicks clumsily between the present and the past, the characters never seem true to themselves and change without reason but above all, the production is just plain lazy. A man's 20 year decent into mental illness explained by shaking the camera for 5 minutes. Great, Good job Joe Wright! Also, we are supposed to be amazed by this talented cellist but when ever he plays you hear a whole orchestra. Could they have hired a profession cellist for the day? Don't get me started on the scenes with the homeless. Contrived nonsense written by an unlikable parasite of a man. Bitterly disappointing.
  • spielberg00
    September 6, 2011
    spielberg00
    Starring Jamie Foxx as the titular character, and also starring Robert Downey, Jr. as the man who brings him to success, THE SOLOIST is a moving, bittersweet drama. It tells the story of a man, working for the city paper, who discovers another man named Nathaniel Ayers playing a... read more violin without all four strings on the street. He begins to write columns in the newspaper about Nathaniel, which brings him to fame and success, eventually leading up to the point at which he begins playing the cello for a symphonic orchestra. Okay, so it's clear that this is just like any other film about music made fairly recently--AUGUST RUSH, RAY, you name it. The gist of it is the same: a man is discovered for his musical talent, he rises to fame, the end. The big question, though, is, "Of all the music dramas made in the past ten years, which one is truly worth my time and money?" That's easy, after seeing this: THE SOLOIST is your number-one best bet.
  • DreamExtractor
    August 4, 2011
    DreamExtractor
    This was a good movie, but not great. The Soloist is about Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx), a schitzophrenic musical prodigy, and Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) a writer who becomes friends with Nathaniel and tries to make him the muscician he's meant to be. The plot is okay, it ... read moremostly just another movie trying to inspire us. The cast is the best part, Foxx and Downey are amazing andwere superb in the film. They did a good job on this film, but its very slow and predictable, and couldve been better.
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    August 3, 2011
    TheDudeLebowski65
    I was looking forward into seeing The Soloist and by what I saw in the trailer, the film looked like it had potential. However, most of the time, the film falls flat and ends up being quite boring. I think it's disappointing because the film had potential in being something wonde... read morerful, and instead, ends up being predictable, overly sentimental and fairly hokey. Considering the talent involved, you'd expect something really good. However, the film ends up being borderline decent. The story could have been something really good, but it feels that the filmmakers took the easy way out, and wrote a somewhat mediocre screenplay that could have been much better. The result is displayed on screen and you simply notice somethings missing to make this a really good film. I felt that the cast was wasted and the film didn't work very well. I thought it was a decent film, but nothing great, and I also thought that this film could have been much better. The Soloist tries too hard to be a sentimental film, and when you're supposed to feel something, you end up not really caring. The soloist as a whole is a disappointing film with a good cast that could have been much better. This is a decent film, nothing great or truly memorable.
  • ythelastman89
    March 2, 2011
    ythelastman89
    As far as feel good or inspiring stories go, The Soloist is an utter god. Not only is it different than the rest of its kind, it has so much to say about contemporary society alongside a single heart-breaking story. Steve Lopez's work will hopefully be recognized more and more an... read mored the issue of homelessness in America is something we should all be trying to fix. Part of why this story and these characters are so worthy of your time is due to the duo of Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx. Both give truly great performances and get you so wrapped up in what is being said. Say what you will about Jamie Foxx in some of his other work, but this is undeniably the best I've seen him in. Robert Downey Jr. only gives two types of perfomances; great and amazing (even in the black tar heroin days). His characters are realistic, entertaining and mesmerizing. Steve Lopez might be the straight man in this, but it's one of the best out there. Aside from the performances, this has surprisingly great cinematography and direction. The look of LA is totally genuine, especially when they're in the L.A.M.P. area with all the real homeless.
  • theunknownhobo
    January 23, 2011
    theunknownhobo
    Not the kind of film I would necessarily go for but again my love of an actor drew me to what is now one of my favorite movies. Robery Downey Jr who will always be on my top ten, plays a journalist with nothing to lose who befriends a homeless musician, Jamie Foxx. Convinced he i... read mores helping the man, Downey interviews him for his newspaper and tries to get the man into a house and back on track with his life. It soon becomes clear that Foxx's character is severely damaged and so begins a self destructive relationship between the two that eventually shows that all that either of them have is each other. Beautifully shot and with a soundtrack as wonderful as the acting, this is one that deserves every star it gets.
  • stevenecarrier
    December 9, 2010
    stevenecarrier
    There isn't exactly anything wrong with "The Soloist", it's well acted by Robert Downey Jr and Jamie Foxx and Joe Wright handles the material with grace. It's also beautiful to look at with lovely cinematography. But much like "Eat Pray Love", memoirs shouldn't be movies. You sim... read moreply just can't capture the emotion of a true story like this on film. "The Soloist" works best as an expose on the homelessness issue in Los Angeles rather than the portrait of a musical genius who has lost his way in life due to mental illness. This would have worked much better as a documentary.
  • Tomassgringo
    November 29, 2010
    Tomassgringo
    Crazy has no cure and this movie takes too long to make that point!

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Critic Reviews

Jonathan F. Richards
June 13, 2009
Jonathan F. Richards, Film.com

In the hands of a director more suited to the material The Soloist might have been a deeply moving experience. Here, we know something important is being played out before us, and there are times when... Full Review

Richard Roeper
April 27, 2009
Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com

Has its moments, but too heavy-handed and predictable. Full Review

Ben Mankiewicz
April 27, 2009
Ben Mankiewicz, At the Movies

Tthis is a maudlin, stereotypical story that never moved at all. Full Review

Ben Lyons
April 27, 2009
Ben Lyons, At the Movies

The film's biggest problem lies really in its pacing. Every time the plot takes an interesting turn or moves forward, it's stalled by one musical montage after another. Full Review

Peter Rainer
April 24, 2009
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor

I wish The Soloist had done more than pay lip service to this subject, but the traces of what might have been are still resonant. Full Review

Lou Lumenick
April 24, 2009
Lou Lumenick, New York Post

A failed and problematic Oscar hopeful being dumped in theaters a week before the start of Hollywood's summer season. Full Review

Stephen Whitty
April 24, 2009
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

The movie still entertains -- thanks to Downey's staccato rhythms and Foxx's secret melodies. But it remains flawed. Full Review

Michael Phillips
April 24, 2009
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

Backed by his newfound A-list stardom, Downey brings to the project a wry swagger -- crucial in an essentially reactive role. I wish, though, that "The Soloist" hadn't spent so much time dealing with ... Full Review

Amy Biancolli
April 24, 2009
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

It took guts. And I suspect there's no sense in making a cautious film about Nathaniel Ayers. Full Review

Liam Lacey
April 24, 2009
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

It's a journey full of good intentions, but also some dubious decisions. Full Review

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    • Steve Lopez: I've never loved anything the way he loves music.
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  • [Dedicated to Dr. Death] Actor Billy Boyd did extra work as a featured soloist (musician) in Lord Of The Rings: Return of the King (2003)   Answer »
  • Which actor will be playing the lead role in the upcoming 2008 film The Soloist, its about a schizophrenic & homeless man who is also a talented musician?  Answer »
  • What instrument was Nathaniel Ayers trained to play in 'The Soloist.'?  Answer »
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