The Soloist

"Judging by the buzz, this is the first piece of Oscar bait being dangled in front of Academy voters and us lesser viewers for next year’s ceremony. But, despite being a solid film, The Soloist is never remotely spectacular."

"Has moments of power and imagination, but the overworked style and heavy socially conscious bent exude an off-putting sense of self-importance, making for a picture that's more of a chore than a pleasure to sit through."

"The film is imperfect, periodically if unsurprisingly sentimental, overly tidy and often very moving."

"The Soloist has all the elements of an uplifting drama, except for the uplift."

"Hits more wrong notes than right ones."

"By consistently and relentlessly overplaying everything, by settling for standard easy emotions when singular and heartfelt was called for, by pushing forward when they should have pulled back, director Joe Wright and screenwriter Susannah Grant have made the story mean less, not more. Instead of enhancing The Soloist's appeal, they have come close to eliminating it."

"Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx are on fire in the lead roles: They're both charismatic as hell without sacrificing any of the emotional honesty necessary for you to believe that these movie stars are a scruffy reporter and a mentally ill musician."

"Intelligent and uncompromising, with knock-out performances from Downey Jr. and Foxx ."

"An admirable telling of an important and moving story. Go and see it."