June 02, 2009
I’m curious how many music-loving, orchestra-supporting readers out there have seen The Soloist? It’s a film, based on a true story, about the relationship between a L.A. Times columnist (Robert Downey, Jr.) and a mentally ill homeless man (Jamie Foxx) who’s a cello prodigy and former Julliard student. I saw the movie earlier this evening, and was really pleasantly surprised because it wasn’t the maudlin and dishonest movie I was expecting. I’m used to (and sick of) Hollywood presenting mental illness in one of two ways: the reason why a nutjob creatively and gruesomely kills a dozen attractive teenagers in the creepy cabin in the woods; or as a curable problem, with characters that ‘get better’ thanks to the love of a good woman (cough, A Beautiful Mind, cough). But The Soloist does neither. SPOILER ALERT: The ending, while hopeful, isn’t necessarily happy, and the point is made that Foxx’s character’s mental well-being is no more or less precarious at the end than it was at the beginning.
Music lovers will enjoy that several scenes were shot at the Disney Concert Hall, including a climactic scene which is staged in one of the outdoor amphitheater-like spaces on the roof, and the music itself appears to be a mix of original score and cello-heavy pieces by Beethoven and Bach (in true Newbie form, I didn’t recognize any of it, though it was all lovely and beautiful).
The Soloist was one of two movies I’ve seen in the last two days, with the other being Drag Me To Hell, a terrifying and fantastic horror movie. Oh, how I wish there was a link to classical music in it so I could justify blogging about it more, but there isn’t, so I’ll just say it’s clever and original, with moments that made me jump and laugh simultaneously. Oh, and I’ll throw this little guessing game out there: One of these two movies features a character’s face getting covered in maggots, and the other features a character getting soaked in coyote urine. Try to guess which scene is in which!
Since I’ll be out of town for this Sunday’s Silent Film Celebration, this will likely be my last blog for a few months, so I just wanted to thank everyone out there for reading and thank my friends at LACO for providing me a forum. I’ll pop up in a few months to offer the Newbie preview of the upcoming LACO season, and maybe before that, if something catches my eye (or ear)!
If you want to catch The Soloist while it’s still in theaters, you better hurry – it’s already been squeezed out of a lot of multiplexes to make room for the big summer flicks. And for anyone that’s seen it, share your thoughts in the comment section below!