The Soloist [2 Discs]

Director: Joe Wright

Overview

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 landed 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.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/08/2013
UPC:	0883929312597
Original Release:	2009
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Paramount Catalog
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:57:00
Sales rank:	13,410

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Jamie Foxx	Nathaniel Ayers
Robert Downey Jr.	Steve Lopez
Tom Hollander	Graham Claydon
Catherine Keener	Mary Weston
Rachael Harris	Leslie
Stephen Root	Curt Reynolds
Nelsan Ellis	David Carter
Jena Malone	Lab Technician
LisaGay Hamilton	Jennifer Ayers
Lorraine Toussaint	Flo Ayers
Kokayi Ampah	Bernie Carpenter
Patrick Tatten	Paul Jr.
Susane Lee	Marisa,Actor
Marcos de Silvas	Mayor Villaraigosa
Ilia Volok	Harry Barnoff
Michael Bunin	Adam Crane
Mike Nowak	Julliard Conductor
Octavia Spencer	Troubled Woman
David Jean Thomas	Angry Homeless Man
Lemon Andersen	Uncle Tommy
Kevin Michael Key	Homeless Transvestite
Moya Brady	Barely Dressed Woman
Orlando Ashley	LAMP Homeless Guy
Artel Great	Leon
J.J. Boone	Shouting Woman
Annie McKnight	LAMP Advocate
Bernadette Speakes	Homeless Lady
Anna Levin	Leeann
Steve Foster	Steve
Dario Marianelli	Composer

Technical Credits

Susannah Grant

Susannah Grant	Screenwriter
Gary Foster	Producer
Russ Krasnoff	Producer
Tim Bevan	Executive Producer
Eric Fellner	Executive Producer
Jeff Skoll	Executive Producer
Patricia Whitcher	Executive Producer
Francine Maisler	Casting

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- The Soloist
1. Chapter 1 [5:14]
2. Chapter 2 [5:35]
3. Chapter 3 [3:55]
4. Chapter 4 [5:12]
5. Chapter 5 [5:57]
6. Chapter 6 [2:59]
7. Chapter 7 [7:22]
8. Chapter 8 [5:12]
9. Chapter 9 [6:01]
10. Chapter 10 [8:18]
11. Chapter 11 [2:45]
12. Chapter 12 [5:59]
13. Chapter 13 [5:52]
14. Chapter 14 [6:42]
15. Chapter 15 [5:42]
16. Chapter 16 [:52]
17. Chapter 17 [4:08]
18. Chapter 18 [8:33]
19. Chapter 19 [3:58]
20. Chapter 20 [4:28]
21. Chapter 21 [3:26]

Menu

Disc #1 -- The Soloist
Play
Set Up
Audio Options
English 5.1 Surround
Français
Español
Commentary by Director Joe Wright
Subtitle Options
English
Français
Español
Subtitles: None
Special Features
Commentary by Director Joe Wright
An Unlikely Frienship: Making the Solist
Kindess, Courtesy and Respect: Mr. Ayers + Mr. Lopez
One Size Does Not Fit All: Addressing Homlessness in Los Angeles
Beth's Story
Deleted Scenes
Play All
Hospital Questions
Audition
I'm No Good
Some Life
I Want the Concert to Go On
Previews
Scene Selection

Editorial Reviews

When The Soloist was originally intended to be a 2008 Oscar hopeful, the initial advertising campaign made it look like a cross between Shine and A Beautiful Mind. And the setup certainly smacks of Oscar bait: Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.), recovering from an especially nasty bike accident, meets the homeless Nathaniel Anthony Ayers (Jamie Foxx) during a walk through the park. Because Nathaniel plays a violin with just two strings -- and plays it rather well -- he catches Steve's eye, and Steve, always on the lookout for a story, strikes up a conversation. When the obviously mentally ill Nathaniel mentions that he went to Juilliard, Steve decides to investigate the man's life, and discovers that the onetime cello prodigy suffered a schizophrenic breakdown while he was at the school, leading to a life on the street. Steve proceeds to write a column about Nathaniel, and the overwhelmingly positive response to the story prompts the gift of a cello from a reader. After delivering the present to Nathaniel, Steve slowly finds himself, almost against his nature, trying to make life better for the man. This kind of movie quickly falls apart if the actors overplay the inherent sadness of the situation, and thankfully the stellar cast never makes that mistake. Although he's become more famous for performances in blockbusters like Iron Man and Tropic Thunder, Robert Downey Jr. hasn't lost an ounce of his dramatic chops. He makes Steve selfish and prickly, but also so charming and funny that you understand why his subjects trust him with their life stories. You can also see why his ex-wife (Catherine Keener), who is now his boss, stays close to him even though she left their marriage. Steve begins asking himself why he cares so much about what happens to Nathaniel, questioning his own motivations -- is it really an ongoing act of selfless goodness, or is he just doing it for his career? Steve doesn't find a satisfying answer, until realizing that this new friendship offers the chance for him to become a better person. As the catalyst for Steve's change, Jamie Foxx pulls off a disciplined, subtle performance. Foxx isn't interested in earning our pity -- a choice that undermines so many actors playing mentally ill characters. You never question the debilitating nature of Nathaniel's disorder, but you also never question that he's able to take care of himself to the best of his ability, surviving -- however miserably -- in L.A.'s large homeless community. Both he and Downey avoid obvious melodramatic choices, and in doing so they create unfailingly honest portraits of complicated people. Now this all may sound like the kind of trite and sappy "feel-good" story that gives Hollywood a bad name. But director Joe Wright and screenwriter Susannah Grant maintain an emotionally controlled tone that keeps the film from sliding into goopy melodrama. They make sure Steve, not Nathaniel, is the center of the story, and by focusing more on the man who wants to help than the man who needs help, they've created a unique movie rather than just another example of cookie-cutter Oscar bait.