It is very important that there be chemistry between the leads in love story and that's what "The Soloist" is---a love story--no, not that kind--and there isn't any chemistry between Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey, Jr. In fact they seem to be in two different movies!

The movie is based on a true story written about in the Los Angeles Times by columnist Steve Lopez who, eventually, turned it into a book.

I
will give the director, Joe Wright, credit for not manipulating the
audience more than he does but he, also, most take the blame for some
of the most annoying camera shots and photography. Do we really need a
'dancing colors', without the water, for music by Beethoven? Or do we
need 5+ minutes of pigeons in flight over LA freeways?

Wright
must also take the blame for, in spite of rats, crack pipes, booze,
etc., homeless people never looked so good. He did cast many real
homeless people as extras but though they conveyed the mental state of
many people who live on the streets none seemed to have the despair
that is so readily seen in someone's eyes when they are homeless.

The script, written by Susannah Grant, didn't seem to capture the special relationship between Nathaniel, (Foxx) and Steve, (Downey, Jr.) and I don't know if this is a reflection of the book (and columns) or Grant's failure.

Robert Downey,
Jr, even when he hit the bottom with all his drug use, always gave
good, sometimes superior, performances in all his films. Here he is on
the top of his game as a columnist,
ex-husband and a caring man. Most of his off screen narration wasn't
needed and I really didn't understand his "Mister Ayers" revelation!

Jamie Foxx's performance just didn't get to me. He seems to be skimming the character and his mental state and not getting under the skin of
the man. It is as if he acting and this was a rehearsal while he looks
for the key to Nathaniel.

Nelsan Ellis is a standout as David the counselor who is given some very sharp
lines and delivers, unlike Catherine Keener who is completely
unconvincing as a newspaper editor and ex-wife.  I am not sure about
Tom Hollander--whether it is his character who is off putting or his interpretation or his part of the story asks for more believability than the script gives us.

The
scenes going back to the past are handled seamlessly but don't really
explain what caused Nathaniel's illness and acts as if it was his
sister's (played by LisaGay Hamilton in a good performance) fault when that just isn't so.

The
film which runs 1 hour and 50 minutes appears to be longer than that
and more than one person in the audience was looking at their watch.

I believe if someone else had played the Nathaniel role it would have been a much better film but as it is I really can't recommend "The Soloist" except for Robert Downey, Jr.'s performance.