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THE SOLOISTMovie Reviews
True story about a musical prodigy whose bouts of mental illness landed him on the streets after attending the renowned Julliard school for two years. Cast:Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey, Jr., Catherine Keener, Tom Hollander, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Rachael HarrisDirector:Joe WrightRelease Date:April 24, 2009DVD Release:August 4, 2009From:DreamworksRating:PG-13Length:1 hr 57 min
The Soloist played to good not great reviews. Reviews were mixed. • David Edelstein wrote in New York magazine, "Downey is stupendous as usual, but Joe Wright’s direction is too slick to elicit much feeling..." • And Michael Phillips wrote in the Chicago Tribune, "I'm not sure Wright and his collaborators figured out how much Hollywood baloney and how much naturalistic grunge to apply..." More Reviews Below...
The Soloist Positive Reviews (45 Reviews, reviews below)
Jason Lynch, People: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Foxx is adequate in a tough part, but he's no match for Downey -- has he ever given a bad performance? -- who wisely underplays his role... He's the film's real soloist."(See all of Jason Lynch's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 189 words, 04/23/09
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: VERY GOOD(cg) "...draws us in without offering the expected 'inspirational' catharsis. It's all a bit shapeless, yet made with sincerity and taste, and the two actors seize your sympathy."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 254 words, 04/17/09
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: WEAK(cg) "...essentially a made-for-Lifetime movie, albeit one populated by Oscar winners and nominees.... the entire third act feels like one long emotional crescendo."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 547 words, 04/22/09
Thelma Adams, Us Weekly: MODERATE(cg) "...the plodding, fact-based drama takes itself oh-so-seriously, and Foxx lays it on too thick as the disturbed genius who gives the movie its title."(See all of Thelma Adams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 81 words, 04/23/09
Claudia Puig, USA Today: VERY GOOD(cg) "...wisely avoids the pitfalls of the inspirational biopic by not tidily sewing things up. Instead, it presents a moving tribute to friendship and the power of music."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 518 words, 04/24/09
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (13 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...wouldn't work half as well without Mr. Downey's astringent, bristly take on a man whose best intentions eventually collide with difficult truths."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,079 words, 04/24/09
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: WEAK(cg) "It's hard to talk about 'The Soloist' without falling into cliches, because this well-meaning but ham-handed drama is full them."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 481 words, 04/24/09
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...has all the elements of an uplifting drama, except for the uplift.... fails to strike the right cord despite uplifting subject matter and well-intentioned performances..."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 723 words, 04/23/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "...consistently and relentlessly overplays everything... settles for standard easy emotions when singular and heartfelt was called for..."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 975 words, 04/24/09
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: MODERATE(cg) "To paraphrase Downey's character in 'Tropic Thunder,' Foxx plays the full schizophrenic when a half-schizophrenic might have been more dramatically effective."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 634 words, 04/24/09
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "I'm not sure Wright and his collaborators figured out how much Hollywood baloney and how much naturalistic grunge to apply..."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 771 words, 04/24/09
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...a noble enterprise, and Downey is stupendous as usual, but Joe Wright's direction is too slick to elicit much feeling..."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 220 words, 04/20/09
Liam Lacey, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "...isn't exactly conventional fare, and offers no illusions... But the idea of schizophrenia as poetic and endearing is gratingly patronizing."(See all of Liam Lacey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 838 words, 04/24/09
Ella Taylor, Village Voice/LA Weekly: WEAK "Wright leaves us with a parting shot of the dancing homeless that shamelessly exploits the very people he means to champion."(See all of Ella Taylor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 240 words, 04/22/09
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...a film about Art and Poverty and Genius and all the other stuff that wins awards, all the while playing up its maker's obvious bravery in tackling such weighty material."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 231 words, 04/23/09
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Foxx's performance here is the jittery one... he has the tougher job: to take a nattering assortment of madman clichés and mold them into a full-blown human character."(See all of Amy Biancolli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 526 words, 04/24/09
Chris Garcia, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...rote and routine emotional pablum about friendship and salvation through art, but Joe Wright's occasionally visionary direction keeps it aloft, just above the snoozingly ordinary."(See all of Chris Garcia's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 751 words, 04/24/09
Tom Maurstad, Dallas Morning News: GOOD(cg) "...the movie doesn't go black and white, it goes gray. That's a good thing, as the movie doesn't play like the big budget after-school special it might have been."(See all of Tom Maurstad's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 721 words, 04/24/09
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE(cg) "...a fairly canned piece of work.... what emerges is a tale of triumph but without triumph, of rescue but without rescue, and of friendship but without friendship."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 738 words, 04/24/09
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: VERY GOOD(cg) "The movie, for all its flaws, reminds us that everyone is worth catching, but it's the actors who best embody that message. They go the full human being."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 920 words, 04/24/09
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...pitch-perfect... What could have been a maudlin exercise in sentimentality becomes a soul-stirring tribute to the power of music and the importance of friendship."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 630 words, 04/24/09
Clint O'Connor, Cleveland Plain-Dealer: VERY GOOD(cg) "Both actors are terrific, Foxx fending off cliche and Downey, as always, saying more with the eternal dancing of his eyes and churning of his brain."(See all of Clint O'Connor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 527 words, 04/24/09
Sarah Bryan Miller, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "For the full real story, you'll still need to turn to the book. But the film, thoughtful in its approach, should make its viewers think as well."(See all of Sarah Bryan Miller's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 379 words, 04/24/09
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: FAIR(cg) "...a remarkable true story in occasionally laughable external terms.... constantly yanks viewers out of its reality and into a shameless pitch for awards consideration."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 563 words, 04/23/09
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...the true story makes for an emotional, transportive movie, a film about two 'soloists,' loners, and how their connection changes both their lives."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 560 words, 04/24/09
Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: VERY GOOD(cg) "Strangely, the inspirational power of 'The Soloist' lies not in its music but in the heart and soul of its intriguing characters."(See all of Connie Ogle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 511 words, 04/24/09
Chris Kaltenbach, Baltimore Sun: VERY GOOD(cg) "...director Joe Wright shrinks from not a single challenge. His characters are edgy, flawed and seemingly more prone to mistakes than victories."(See all of Chris Kaltenbach's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 521 words, 04/24/09
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...far from glum... There's humor. An intractable raccoon problem provides some comic relief. But 'grace' -- a word used in the film -- is the best one to describe the mood."(See all of Lisa Kennedy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 668 words, 04/24/09
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (6 Reviews)
Ella Taylor, Village Voice/LA Weekly: WEAK "Wright leaves us with a parting shot of the dancing homeless that shamelessly exploits the very people he means to champion."(See all of Ella Taylor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 240 words, 04/22/09
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: VERY GOOD(cg) "Rarely have actors achieved such a bond playing characters who can never really connect. In the end, the film isn't about big moments, it's about the grace notes..."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 464 words, 04/17/09
Tom Meek, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD(cg) "...uneven but affecting.... Wright never indulges in maudlin heavy-handedness, and that allows Downey to achieve genuine pathos."(See all of Tom Meek's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 131 words, 04/23/09
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...a film about Art and Poverty and Genius and all the other stuff that wins awards, all the while playing up its maker's obvious bravery in tackling such weighty material."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 231 words, 04/23/09
HIGHBROW PRESS (4 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...wouldn't work half as well without Mr. Downey's astringent, bristly take on a man whose best intentions eventually collide with difficult truths."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,079 words, 04/24/09
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: OUTSTANDING "...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..."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 691 words, 04/24/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "...consistently and relentlessly overplays everything... settles for standard easy emotions when singular and heartfelt was called for..."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 975 words, 04/24/09
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Todd McCarthy, Daily Variety: FAIR "Neither rarefied art film nor widely accessible inspirational drama... the overworked style and heavy socially conscious bent exude an off-putting sense of self-importance..."(See all of Todd McCarthy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,052 words, 04/16/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "...consistently and relentlessly overplays everything... settles for standard easy emotions when singular and heartfelt was called for..."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 975 words, 04/24/09
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...wouldn't work half as well without Mr. Downey's astringent, bristly take on a man whose best intentions eventually collide with difficult truths."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,079 words, 04/24/09
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: OUTSTANDING "...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..."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 691 words, 04/24/09
21.7 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
The Soloist's reviews are separated by an average 21.7 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
The Soloist (45 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:The Soloist's reviews cover 79.3% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 25,429 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 565 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
The Soloist Coverage, Volume & Length (45 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 34.6 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
The Soloist's reviews on average broke 34.6 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is The Soloist's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
The Soloist (45 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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