The Soloist : DVD released on Aug.4, 2009

Sometimes people randomly cross paths, and always will be amended. That is the subtle, but profound, message of the soloist, a deeply moving and deeply human film about people and what and who they connect with. Robert Downey Jr, who effortlessly charismatic, plays Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez, whose job it is to report on the character and characters of Southern California. But even a (slightly) jaded reporter is deeply touched by a story that he, and then unfold in real time. The subject of Lopez column is Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx, also a stellar turn), a homeless street musician whose beautiful music - played on a battered two-string violin - Lopez is a day for a walk not far from the Times office. Lopez teaches Ayers once attended Juilliard before mental illness sent him into a spiral, and the column that Ayers' travel affects the community - and the two men. The film (based on the book by Lopez, following the stop of the journey of their friendship, and how sometimes people's lives can not be determined. Director Joe Wright (Atonement) cast real homeless Angelenos in the many street and social services scenes, making the film an even more heart-wrenching and realistic patina. If the movie does not always meet the high expectations (the trippy effects that supposedly show what Ayers sees when he hears Beethoven, his right to a light show 1968), but nevertheless has a big heart. And in a time when newspapers are struggling to survive, it is encouraging to see a contemporary story about a newspaper that still affect change.

Actors: Jr. Robert Downey, Jamie Foxx, Catherine Keener, Stephen Root, Lisa Gay Hamilton
Directors: Joe Wright
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Language: English
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
Number of discs: 1
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Dreamworks Video
DVD Release Date: August 4, 2009
Run Time: 116 minutes