MOVIE · 2009
The Soloist
Drama109 min
A Los Angeles newspaper columnist searching for his next piece meets Nathaniel Ayers, a Juilliard-trained musician living on the streets and coping with schizophrenia. Robert Downey Jr. is Steve Lopez, the journalist who keeps returning to Ayers with questions, food, and offers of help; Jamie Foxx's Ayers moves between virtuoso focus and deep suspicion as his violin and cello playing turns a chance encounter into something neither man can keep at a professional distance. Drawn from a true story, the film follows their uneven friendship through downtown LA, where art, reporting, homelessness, and mental illness are tightly entwined.
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