The soloist
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The soloist |
| Original title | The soloist |
| Country of production | UK , USA , France |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2009 |
| length | 117 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Joe Wright |
| script |
Susannah Grant , Steve Lopez |
| production |
Gary Foster Russ Krasnoff |
| music | Dario Marianelli |
| camera | Seamus McGarvey |
| cut | Paul Tothill |
| occupation | |
| |
The soloist (original title: The Soloist ) is a film drama from 2009 . The film is based on the book of the same name by US journalist Steve Lopez . It is the true story of the gifted cellist Nathaniel Ayers , who suffers from schizophrenia . In the film stars Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. The screenplay for the film was directed by Susannah Grant written and directed by Joe Wright . The cinema release in Germany was on December 10, 2009.
action
Journalist Steve Lopez is looking for a topic for his column at the Los Angeles Times just before going to press . In town he meets the homeless Nathaniel Ayers and looks at him playing a violin with only two strings. He learns that Ayers studied at the Juilliard School and was a gifted cellist. Lopez describes his impressions in his column and in response, among other things, receives a cello that a reader has given Ayers as a gift. He hands him the cello on the condition that Ayers find a place to sleep in a contact point for the mentally ill homeless. The two become friends while Lopez writes more columns about Ayers and experiences his schizophrenic attacks. In an effort to help Ayers, he urges him to seek medical treatment, thereby straining the relationship of trust. Finally, Lopez realizes that music, especially that of Ayer's favorite composer, Beethoven , seems to be the only stop for Ayers.
During the course of the film, several flashbacks portray Ayers' childhood, his entry into the conservatory and the onset of schizophrenia, which prevents him from playing, creates fear of his apartment and finally drives him onto the street.
criticism
“'The Soloist' goes straight to the heart in several ways, because high culture is skillfully conveyed here with the imponderables of fate. [...] 'The Soloist' follows the tradition of Hollywood hits like ' Rain Man '; The focus is always on an actor's performance that aims directly at the virtuoso. Luckily, Jamie Foxx doesn’t overdo it unrestrainedly, but even he cannot prevent director Joe Wright from putting it on quite thickly. As if the film itself had to be like a Beethoven symphony. "
“The film's intention to draw attention to the fate of the homeless in the City of Angels is honest. It would have been hoped that this did not happen in such a sober narrative style that leaves you completely untouched. Conclusion: passionless appeal to humanity. "
“The drama primarily serves relevant audience expectations and never finds its own style or an inner center. In the end, the performance of the actors also falls victim to the lack of inspiration of the script and direction. "
“ In his remarkable presentation, Jamie Foxx conveys a convincing picture of the typical psychotic symptoms that unfortunately can so often be observed in the homeless. [...] Broken by the pressure to perform at the academy, he is now supposed to take care of an antique cello that is worth several ten thousand dollars. No wonder he suffers a serious setback. This is where the actual story should begin, here Joe Wright's film could actually dive into the world of the socially excluded and ask the question why these people are still measured by their performance in a philanthropic social drama. [...] It's like the unspeakable ' desert flower ' that just had its one millionth visitor: Nobody expects more stories than 'Who will be a millionaire and classic superstar'. "
Awards
German Film and Media Assessment (FBW) : Predicate particularly valuable
Web links
- The soloist in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The soloist at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- Official German site for the film
- Lopez and Ayers in a short documentation (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ universal-pictures-international-germany.de
- ↑ We wash for Beethoven . In: Berliner Zeitung , December 14, 2009; criticism
- ↑ criticism on cinema.de; Retrieved November 23, 2009
- ↑ The soloist. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ DANIEL KOTHENSCHULTE: Jamie Foxx as "The Soloist" - Get the hang of it - December 14, 2009 ( Memento from December 14, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) fr-online.de
- ↑ Evaluation of the FBW on fbw-filmbeval.de . Retrieved May 1, 2010