The Soloist Critic Reviews

Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx are on fire in the lead roles: They're both charismatic as hell without sacrificing any of the emotional honesty necessary for you to believe that these movie stars are a scruffy reporter and a mentally ill musician.Read the full review

Mr. Wright and his colleagues have made a movie with a spaciousness of its own, a brave willingness to explore such mysteries of the mind and heart as the torture that madness can inflict, and the rapture that music can confer. Bravo to all concerned.Read the full review

Isn't so much a story of perseverance and musical triumph as it is of despair, acceptance, and social commitment. The movie's a call to arms: We are our brothers' keepers, it says, and our brothers are in terrible shape.Read the full review

Catherine Keener is also believable and sympathetic as Lopez's editor and former wife. But the film's power comes down to the strength of the two superb lead performances.Read the full review

In the end, The Soloist isn't about BIG MOMENTS, it's about the grace notes, the kind that stay with you.Read the full review

It's all a bit shapeless, yet made with sincerity and taste, and the two actors seize your sympathy.Read the full review

Hollywood loves the heroics of good intentions, but this movie is just as interested in the road to hell.Read the full review

The Soloist has all the elements of an uplifting drama, except for the uplift.Read the full review

The problem with The Soloist is that, while Wright shows admirable restraint in dramatizing the interaction between the two principals and does not fall into the trap of following a "movie of the week" formula about mental illness, there is little emotional resonance in the story.Read the full review