Soloist

Soloist

Cast:

Jamie Foxx
(Nathaniel Anthony Ayer...

Robert Downey Jr.
(Steve Lopez)

Catherine Keener
(Mary Weston)

Tom Hollander
(Graham Claydon)

Lisa Gay Hamilton
(Jennifer Ayers-Moore)

Rachael Harris
(Leslie)

Story line

In 2005, the only thing hurting Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez more than his face from a recent bike accident was his pressing need for story ideas. That is when he discovers Nathaniel Ayers, a mentally ill, homeless street musician who possesses extraordinary talent, even though his half-broken instruments. Inspired by his story, Lopez writes an acclaimed series of articles about Ayers and attempts to do more to help both him and the rest of the underclass of LA have a better life. However, Lopez's good intentions run headlong in the hard realities of the strength of Ayers' personal demons and the larger social injustices facing the homeless. Regardless, Lopez and Ayers must find a way to conquer their deepest anxieties and frustrations to hope for a brighter future for both of them

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$31,670,931

Release Date:

25 September 2009

Director:

Joe Wright

Writers:

Susannah Grant

Producer by:

Gary foster

Russ Kransoff

Critical reaction

Overall, the film has received somewhat mixed reviews. Based on 120 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an overall rating 55% (considered "Rotten") of reviews being positive with an average score of 6/10.^[6] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 61 out of 100, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 32 reviews.^[7] Reviewers generally praise the performances by Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx, but comment on the film's lack of narrative focus in attempting to tell a convincing or engaging story due to the somewhat "uneven" direction by director Wright.^[8] Many felt that the project was a bit of a "mismatch" for Joe Wright, and felt it was one of his weakest films to date, following the success of his adaptations of Pride and Prejudice (2005) and Atonement (2007).