"The Soloist" was Like Negotiating Dante's Nine Circles of Hell

    Director Joe Wright uses the story of protagonist Steve Lopez's autobiography of his interaction with a homeless man suffering from the profound effects of long term schizophrenia, to display the twin hells of homeless Los Angeles, California and the debilitating effects of mental illness. Los Angeles Times Journalist Steve Lopez, played by Robert Downey, Jr., became interested in the homeless man, Nathaniel Ayers, played by Jamie Foxx, when he discovered Mr. Ayers on the streets, and that he had raw musical talent, and consequently, he had at one time attended Julliard in Manhattan.

    Mr. Ayers was clearly intelligent, and one might question why he had been on the streets for so long - over 26 years. It was a conundrum to Mr. Lopez, but it did not take long to deduct that Mr. Ayers was suffering from a myriad of mental abnormalities, many, such as obsessive compulsive disorder, are often associated with schizophrenia. There was one more dilemma with Mr. Ayers: He would not take prescribed medication for his multiple conditions.

    Steve Lopez had a condition himself: Detachment. For Journalist Lopez, his job was first in his life. His divorced wife, Mary Weston, played by Katherine Keener, though she was a colleague, was a distant second. Nathaniel Ayers would have never gotten a second thought from the detached journalist had he not been such an unusual story - one worth relating to his loyal readers.

    After being moved by Mr. Lopez's story on Mr. Ayers, one loyal reader, an elderly former cellist, sent Steve her cello to be forwarded to Nathaniel, which would relieve the former progeny of attempting to make music with a two string, battered violin, which he was, surprisingly, proficient. There was one catch to the valuable gift: It must be secured at the LAMP facility (a homeless shelter and treatment facility for the homeless) as the place for him to play.

    The LAMP facility was no picnic. In fact it resembled at least three of Dante's nine circles of Hell compressed into one wretched plane of existence. The other six circles of Hell were Nathaniel's tortured, mind, and his perception of a jangled world that he endured just to exist daily. And with all that Nathaniel endured, he remained kind, and generous, and as good a man as he could manage. He led an admirable existence, and became an inspiration unto others, if not unto himself.

    The acting in this film, which is mostly what exists between Robert Downey, Jr. and Jamie Foxx is outstanding. The film does, however, tend to concentrate too much on Mr. Ayers schizophrenia, which tended to rule large chunks of the film's time. When you have actors as talented as Robert Downey, Jr. and Jamie Foxx, you should not need to dwell so heavily on a subject, so that your audience will get the point of Mr. Ayers disability. Mr. Wright should have a bit more faith.

    Regardless, in its 117 minutes of runtime, the story does work. It relates well, as it presents a tight message of how completely dissimilar people can bond when trust exists between them.

    Rated PG13. Released on DVD August 4, 2009.