The Soloist

The Soloist (2008)

  • 56% of critics liked it
    (200 reviews)

  • 58% of users liked it
    (261,646 ratings)

Academy Award-nominated Atonement director Joe Wright teams with screenwriter Susannah Grant to tell the true-life story of Nathaniel Ayers, a former cello prodigy whose bouts with schizophrenia landed him on the streets after two years of schooling at Juilliard. Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) is a… More

Play Trailer

PG-13,
Directed By
Written By
Susannah Grant
Genres
Musical & Performing Arts, Drama
In Theaters
Apr 24, 2009 Wide
Dreamworks/Paramount

Critic Reviews

  • Dave Calhoun, Time Out

    A deliriously imperfect film - and all the better for it.

  • Jonathan F. Richards, Film.com

    In the hands of a director more suited to the material The Soloist might have been a deeply moving experience. Here, we know something important is being played out before us, and there are times when it hits home with force. But in their exercise of dram

  • Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com

    Has its moments, but too heavy-handed and predictable.

  • Ben Mankiewicz, At the Movies

    Tthis is a maudlin, stereotypical story that never moved at all.

  • Ben Lyons, At the Movies

    The film's biggest problem lies really in its pacing. Every time the plot takes an interesting turn or moves forward, it's stalled by one musical montage after another.

Read all 20 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Daniel P


    I had low expectations for this movie, based on bad reviews, but in all, it wasn't that bad. The acting was solid - Robert Downey Jr. really is a talent, and Jamie Foxx embraced a challenging role - and the visual treatment was interesting, wandering away from the narrative in… More

  • Jameson W


    Okay film...

  • Anthony L


    The Soloist was a huge disappointment for me, as the trailer had made it look great. OK, so Jamie Foxx's performance was very good, and if Steve Lopez is as unlikable in real life as I suspect, Robert Downey Jr played him perfectly. The problem is that it tries to hard to pull at… More

  • Alexander D


    Starring Jamie Foxx as the titular character, and also starring Robert Downey, Jr. as the man who brings him to success, THE SOLOIST is a moving, bittersweet drama. It tells the story of a man, working for the city paper, who discovers another man named Nathaniel Ayers playing a… More

  • Jim C


    This was a good movie, but not great. The Soloist is about Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx), a schitzophrenic musical prodigy, and Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) a writer who becomes friends with Nathaniel and tries to make him the muscician he's meant to be. The plot is okay, it… More

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

Currently unavailable on Flixster

Also available on

UltraViolet Retailers

Other Retailers

Subscription Services

Not Available
Not Available
Not Available

Cast

See more (9)

Trailers & Clips