The soloist

[michelanCello]

Has anyone seen The Soloist yet? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_Spu2nO0jw

I've just seen it yesterday, and I was shocked. Not only is it a great movie (I think Jamie Foxx does great here), but It's also a true story. So true that the people who it is about (Nathaniel Ayers and Steve Lopez) are still alive and well, and even assisted by the making of the movie.

The story is about a journalist (Steve Lopez - Robert Downey Jr.) who's looking for a good story, and finds a homeless guy, who is playing violin with only two strings and it turns out that the guy (Nathaniel Ayers - Jamie Foxx) was a Juiliard student, but quitted, because he suffers of scizofrenia.

It's not a happy-ending story (don't like the pink-clowd-hollywood-mass-movies), but it's real... it gives you a good view of the life of 90 000 homeless people living in L.A.

It's one of the best movies I've seen... well, lately...

All I wanted to say is: I liked it very much, so when you have the opportunity to watch it, it's worth it, really!

Ps: you can find a lot of video's concerning Natheniel on youtube, just type his name... if you're interested...

 

[ShadowNinjaCat]

I saw it a while ago.I loved at the end when it said all the instruments he could play and then Lopez. It's sad that he was so brilliant and suffered from schizophrenia.

 

[Tonyblack]

We've just borrowed it from the local library. Sharlene watched it a while back and thought it was very good.

 

[Tonyblack]

We watched it last night as well as the special features which included the making of and interviews with the people the movie was about. It was really fascinating and very well done.

The Slow Movement of Beethoven's 9th at the end had me in tears - it's a beautiful piece if it's done well. I was impressed to learn that most of the extras were actually real homeless people.

Well worth checking out!

 

[michelanCello]

I really liked the aproach of the director (I've seen the "how it's made" part too)... I think he brought a bit of sunshine in the lives of all those people who could assist to the movie...
The Soloist is deffinitly in my top 10!

 

[jaquestyras]

Joe Wright is one of the best directors in the film business right now. Whether considering his highly-acclaimed 21st Century adaptation of Pride And Prejudice (the best directorial feature film debut since John Huston's The Maltese Falcon in 1941 if you ask me) or the multi-Oscar-nominated war/romance epic Atonement, Wright's work really stands out in today's Hollywood. Wright works on a smaller scale for his third film, The Soloist, but achieves the same level of brilliance that his first two films have.

 

[michelanCello]

Joe Wright is one of the best directors in the film business right now. Whether considering his highly-acclaimed 21st Century adaptation of Pride And Prejudice (the best directorial feature film debut since John Huston's The Maltese Falcon in 1941 if you ask me) or the multi-Oscar-nominated war/romance epic Atonement, Wright's work really stands out in today's Hollywood. Wright works on a smaller scale for his third film, The Soloist, but achieves the same level of brilliance that his first two films have.

I totally agree, jaquestyras! Welcome, by the way!

 

[swreader]

If you liked The Soloist (which I also think was spectacular and worth watching more than once), you might see if you can find Music of the Heart.

This movie is also based on a true story about a single mother teaching children in Spanish Harlem (not the most wonderful area of New York) to play the violin. The movie stars Meryl Streep, who learned to play the violin well enough to play in the final scene at Carneige Hall (Concerto in D Minor for Two Violins) with Pearlman and Stern, and many others students and professionals.

The DVD we got included the DVD of the documentary Small Wonders wihich also won awards.

This is an inspiring story that brings a lump to the throat--either version --the movie or the documentary.

 

[michelanCello]

Thanks for the tip! I'll go and see if I can find it...