The movie stars Robert Downey Jr. as Steve Lopez, an LA Times columnist. He runs into a homeless person in search of a new column topic. The homeless person is Nathaniel Ayeres, played by Jaime Foxx. Nathaniel is a homeless schizophrenic who has a passion for classical music. The movie then dives into the relationship between the two characters.
Here's what I did like about the movie:
The Story. What a fascinating story. These two men, who otherwise have no business with each other, find a way to put aside differences and be friends. Differences in class, occupation, race, all in the name of friendship. Even though Lopez gets accused of exploiting Nathaniel for his own gains, you see that he isn't. He genuinely wants to help Nathaniel return to greatness in the music scene.
The Cast. Are you kidding me? Downey Jr. is the A-List star he's always deserved to be, and Jaime Foxx is an amazing actor, WHEN HE WANTS TO BE. And believe me folks, in this film, he wanted to be amazing! He sells the character of Nathaniel to the point where you must remind yourself it's Foxx. There are a few scenes where Nathaniel's schizophrenia is making him hear voices that are not there; Foxx sells this to the audience in a way few actors can do. There is no dialogue, and he has to express fear, discomfort, confusion all at once. Great role for a great actor. It doesn't hurt that Foxx actually played all the music in film, not just close ups of his face to make us think it's him.
What I didn't like: one thing really...
The Director, Joe Wright. How the heck could you mess this up, the man made Atonement for God's sake? The story is there, the actors are in place, the scenery is vivid, vibrant and alive, how do you mess this up? Every scene is stretched to an unbearable length. Something that should have been shot in a minute of film is stretched to five minutes. The movie is one hour, fifty minutes, it should have been an hour and fifteen minutes tops.
There's a scene where we're taken into the mind of Nathaniel, while he's listening to classical music. The director tries to impress us but fails miserably. There are light displays that are reminiscent of a mp3 player's equalizer matching the beat to a song. Bouncing lights to help us imagine what Nathaniel is hearing? What?
Overall I give this film a 6 out of 10. This film is like buying a puzzle. All the pieces are there, in a nice and tidy box, just as the pieces to a great film were there for the director. But its on the person to put the pieces together in the right place. And Joe Wright did not do that. Anyone else? Agree to disagree with me?
