The Soloist 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. Read more

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 Lopez's crises of conscience and career, even as they r Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: Hollywood loves the heroics of good intentions, but this is that rare movie that is just as interested in the road to hell. Read more

James Rocchi, MSN Movies: The Soloist is like its two protagonists: It's a little messy and beaten up in spots, but ultimately it's decent and dignified. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: The movie is a noble enterprise, and Downey is stupendous as usual, but Joe Wright's direction is too slick to elicit much feeling. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: Mr. Wright and his colleagues have made a movie with a spaciousness of its own, a brave willingness to explore such mysteries of the mind and heart as the torture that madness can inflict, and the rapture that music can confer. Bravo to all concerned. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Tough-minded yet often touching, The Soloist works precisely because it doesn't go where we think it's going to go. Read more

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 it hits home with force. But in their exercise of dram Read more

Tasha Robinson, AV Club: It feels like a puzzle with some significant pieces missing. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Wright has Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr., both outstanding. Their performances make up for the meandering plot and occasional missteps; neither actor is ever anything less than compelling, giving The Soloist an emotional heft it might not have enjoyed. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: The movie, for all its flaws, reminds us that everyone is worth catching, but it's the actors who best embody that message. They go the full human being. Read more

Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: It took guts. And I suspect there's no sense in making a cautious film about Nathaniel Ayers. Read more

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. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: Perceptive [and] deeply engaging. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: The Soloist foregoes easy solutions, and even more importantly, it foregoes any easy sense of friendship. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: It's all a bit shapeless, yet made with sincerity and taste, and the two actors seize your sympathy. Read more

Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: Strangely, the inspirational power of The Soloist lies not in its music but in the heart and soul of its intriguing characters. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: As Ayers, a Juilliard-trained cellist reduced to homelessness, Foxx turns The Soloist from a mildly effective inspirational tale into an aggressive awards-season advertisement. Read more

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: The Soloist takes all those innately engaging details and turns them into what is essentially a made-for-Lifetime movie, albeit one populated by Oscar winners and nominees. Read more

David Denby, New Yorker: I don't know if Beethoven and a sympathetic newspaper reporter can redeem a messy American city, but this movie makes a plausible case for so fervent a dream. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The movie still entertains -- thanks to Downey's staccato rhythms and Foxx's secret melodies. But it remains flawed. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: A workaholic roused to life by his contact with an extraordinary person. Music healing all ills. The rehabilitation of an impaired genius. The only reason any of this is barely watchable is because of the stars. Read more

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. Read more

Andrew Sarris, New York Observer: Mr Downey and Mr. Foxx both turn in Oscar-worthy performances in their very strenuous and detail-drenched roles. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: The Soloist is a moving, inspirational story told in a straightforward style, refreshingly devoid of sentimentality. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: It's marvelous work all around, especially by Foxx and Downey. Their duet makes The Soloist sing. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: The tone of The Soloist is wildly uneven. Though unsparing and unsentimental when framing the principals, Wright is hyperbolic when depicting the agitation of the mentally ill and the soothing rapture of music. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Read more

Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com: Has its moments, but too heavy-handed and predictable. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: The Soloist has all the elements of an uplifting drama, except for the uplift. The story is compelling, the actors are in place, but I was never sure what the filmmakers wanted me to feel about it. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: In the end, The Soloist isn't about BIG MOMENTS, it's about the grace notes, the kind that stay with you. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com: In the end, The Soloist is about how unknowable other people really are -- an idea that's terrifying until you step back and see the wonder of it. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: For all its sensitivity to the horrors of mental illness, The Soloist ends up as a fairly canned piece of work. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: The Soloist is pitch-perfect, a sensitive rendering of challenging social and emotional themes. Read more

Sarah Bryan Miller, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: The movie avoids most of the pitfalls: Its epiphanies are small ones, but with the gleam of truth. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: It's a journey full of good intentions, but also some dubious decisions. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: A movie about an improbable friendship set against the backdrop of urban and cultural decay, The Soloist strives for deep meaning and settles for gritty reality. Read more

Mary F. Pols, TIME Magazine: A deeply empathetic exploration of mental illness and a winning showcase for the talents of its two stars, Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx. Read more

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: A deliriously imperfect film - and all the better for it. Read more

Christopher Orr, The New Republic: [Director Joe Wright's] treatment of the material is so literal that at times the film seems like a syllabus for Remedial Cinematic Technique 101. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: While the narrative occasionally falters, The Soloist wisely avoids the pitfalls of the inspirational biopic by not tidily sewing things up. Instead, it presents a moving tribute to friendship and the power of music. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Variety: Neither rarefied art film nor widely accessible inspirational drama, The Soloist falls between the cracks both creatively and commercially. Read more

Ella Taylor, Village Voice: Foxx and Downey's disciplined duet come close to redeeming The Soloist from its visual excesses. Read more