The Soloist: The Movie

My viewing of The Soloist recalled how cruel Fate can be to nice people. The Soloist placed the homeless, especially the mentally ill ones, in my face and forced me to deal with the unfortunate reality of homeless mental illness. Then it ushered me on a quick glimpse in the world of classical music. The Soloist spins both topics as subplots around a remake of the Joseph story in the Book of Genesis. Undoubtedly, this movie will vibrate the full range of your emotions. Now recall the Joseph story.

Joseph had a special gift. Subject to the grip of jealousy of his brothers, he was sold into slavery. While in service, Joseph endured and emerged a powerful ruler. Years later, upon confronting his brothers he said:

"Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.Genesis 46:19-21.

The principal characters of this engaging movie are Nathaniel Ayers, played by Jamie Foxx, and Steve Lopez, played by Robert Downey Jr. Ayers is a modern-day Joseph. Fate plays the composite characters of Joseph's brothers who sells him into mental illness.

Like the Biblical Joseph, the young Ayers is very talented. To carve out a life as a musician, Ayers abandons the distractions of his inner city life, elevates the great composers to prophets of the god he seeks, masters their techniques, and earns acceptance into the famed Julliard School of Music.

In the clutches of mental illness, Ayers departs Julliard before gaining its heralded certification. He takes to the streets and like the typical homeless, keeps all of his possessions in a grocery cart under his vigilant watch. But unlike the typical homeless, he plays classical music on a violin with two strings to passing motorists in tunnels and homeless audiences whom he spelled to tranquility with his music.

While traversing a small park Steve Lopez, a writer for the Los Angles Times, hears heavenly sounds from a stringed instrument. He investigates to find Ayers serenading a Beethoven statue. Lopez, amazed at this street musician's talent and dedication, pursues the story of this gifted musician and publicizes it in a series.

Lopez's feature stories on Ayers nets Ayers a cello from a former player. Heartened by this response to the story, Lopez offers Ayers the cello provided he seeks shelter from the streets. Ayers accepts the cello then plays it. As he plays the cello we, the viewing audience, get a glimpse of the Ayers' joy through a symbolic flight of pigeons.

This is one of the exhilarating moments in the movie. The pigeons pumped their wings to the arpeggios in an accompanying orchestra. They glide when Ayers slowly bows his singing cello and they frantically pump their wings with each accompanying urgency of the orchestra. Clearly these scenes are the movie directors attempts to give us a look at the ebb and flow of Ayers' happiness as he plays his gift.

From the pigeon's vantage point over a freeway, the world looks ordered. Cars follow each other in neat lines to their destinations. Like busy ants they column to return to their colony with the bounty of a new find. The smooth curves in the freeway exits and the interchanges highlight the functionality of these creations. To the phrasing of the music, the pigeons fly high and they fly low. Then the pigeons enter a steep vertical ascent to symbolize Ayers entered Nirvana under the intoxication of his own music. Pigeons are not powerful enough to ascend straight up, so they apparently are drawn into this embrace by the music god.

The movie closes with the following statement on a black screen: Psychiatrists believe the brain chemistry of the mentally ill changes when someone enters their lives as a friend.

Lopez's mission to return Ayers to normalcy earned him celebrity recognition and local government's support for the homeless.

The movie ends with Ayers attempting to live a life of normalcy. Equally significant, Lopez's attention to Ayers jolted him to recognize that his life was dysfunctional. Now realizing his family as a blessing that he had neglecting, Lopez is shown with his wife in the company of Ayers.

Like the Joseph story, the talented Ayers endured his life situation and emerged a leader to his own destiny. Through Lopez's feature stories, many in the homeless community were saved as government began to address the needs of that community.