THE SOLOIST: On General Release From 25th September 2009

It was Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder who described the situation of mental health in movies the best:

‘Everybody knows you never go full retard.’

So I was a little bit nervous when I heard Downey would be in a movie about schizophrenia but I was pleasantly surprised by this blatant piece of Oscar baiting.

In The Soloist Downey plays real life reporter Steve Lopez who comes across a homeless man that just so happens to be a talented classical musician as well as a schizophrenic.

Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx) is a homeless musician who spends his time playing a violin by a statue of his hero, Beethoven. When he lets slip to Steve that he was once in the prestigious Julliard School, he is thrust into the public eye when Steve writes an article in the LA Times about him. Do It!