The Soloist

2009 • 117 minutes

About this movie

Academy Award nominee Robert Downey Jr. and Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx star in an extraordinary and inspiring true story of how a chance meeting can change a life. The Soloist tells the poignant and ultimately soaring tale of a Los Angeles newspaper reporter who discovers a brilliant and distracted street musician, with unsinkable passion, and the unique friendship and bond that transforms both their lives. The remarkable performances make for an unforgettable experience in what is hailed as "a courageous and uncompromising film" (Gene Shalit, TODAY).

Ratings and reviews

As a man whom suffers from schizophrenia I can tell you how tough it is, but music heals the mind. I've been learning how to sing, and am about to take lessons for violin and piano. I have such a profound love and passion to play music but the mind betrays me. So it's taken me this long to finally start. I'm 32. But this movie inspires me.

The story is a wonderful tale of compassion and brotherly love executed with less than stellar precision. Great performances by Foxx and Downey. The way the director tried to show a schizophrenic mind detracted from the bond between the two main characters.

I read the book first and found it very enlightening. Unfortunately, as it happen with screen adaptations, there was too much book to fit into a movie. The movie had very little depth. It hit all of nthe major points but grazed over all of them.