The Soloist (2009)

I got a very strong sense that I was being shown Joe Wright's shock at moving to LA watching this film. The deprivation of the city is not something I know very much about, since all I've seen has been part of the Hollywood machine - glossy, rich young people and their glossy, expensive cars. It was shocking to me to see the level of poverty some people live in and the way the homeless are treated by the authorities. America is so often presented as a utopia of liberty and opportunity, but we see a homeless man being arrested for illegal possession of a shopping cart.

The film as a whole develops a greater feeling of truthfulness from the casting of genuinely homeless people and the use of locations - it was filmed in an area with the highest concentration of homelessness in America.

The Soloist was also very brave in its depiction of mental illness. Nathaniel is shown to be incredibly talented, but we are not given an idealistic view - his schizophrenia is a barrier, preventing him from realising his full potential and sometimes making him dangerous. The scene where he turns on his friend and nearly kills him is terrifying and all too realistic.

One of the most interesting aspects for me was the glimpse it gave of synesthesia - a mental quirk which basically mixes your senses up. Nathaniel, in common with many musicians, experienced music as colour and we were shown this as a coloured lightshow as Beethoven was played. It was very well designed, somehow feeling fitting to the music, even if it hurt my eyes a little.

Jamie Foxx was fantastic, inhabiting his character brilliantly. It was a demanding role: he had to imitate a mental illness and look at home playing a violin and a cello, and he pulled it off. Robert Downey Jnr gave a very Robert Downey Jnr performance - it was no great transformative leap, but he has a compelling screen presence and can get away with that.

The timing of the release is interesting, since we're nowhere near awards season yet and this is a very strong contender for awards - it's a serious drama with talented, previously-nominated actors. I could easily see this being nominated for cast, director and cinematography and yet, I wonder if its chances will be affected by a long wait inbetween release and nominations. Possibly this was an economically motivated move - right now it has minimal competition, being put up against comedies, kids' films and horror flicks. I hope that pays off, since its an excellently well-made film with a worthy plot, and the idealist in me loves to see people making good films doing well.