The Soloist

My wife put this movie in the other day. This is my way of saying it was not one that I picked out. Starring Robert Downey and Jamie Foxx as a LA Times reporter named Steve Lopez and a homeless man named Nathanial Ayers.

Meeting Ayers and discovering that he was a cello prodigy who attended Julliard's he decides to look into his background and discovers the story is true. Scizophrenia has debilitated Ayers to the extent that he lives in a tunnel.

The reporter and the homeless mans relationship develops. Lopez attempts to reintegrate Ayers to music. Eventually getting him to sleep inside becomes a goal. There are ups and downs for both characters and the movie does not have the fairy tale ending one might hope for but it is improvement for Ayers.

Downey's performance is solid but Foxx is wonderful. This was not an easy part to play and Foxx brings some strong acting chops to it. Not a great movie but an interesting one and Foxx does a great job.