The Soloist Review + A Homeless Rant

I watched The Soloist last night, and I was intrigued enough to finish the film to the end. The movie depicts the true story of Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, Jr. (Jamie Foxx), a prodigious musician that attends Julliard, develops a mental disorder, drops out, and lives homeless on the streets of L.A. for years. He is befriended by Steve Lopez (Robert Downey, Jr.), a writer for the L.A. Times, after Lopez spots Ayers on the streets playing the violin. Ayers is looking for a story, and after learning that Ayers is a Julliard drop-out, he decides to write about Ayers.

The movie largely deals with homelessness, as well as the beauty of music and the power of friendship. Homelessness, a matter that is particularly touching to my heart (see here), is a gut-tugging lifestyle depicted in the movie. While this movie does not go into great detail of life on the streets, it still is eye-opening and relevant. I was reminded of John Grisham's The Street Lawyer, which is phenomenal if you haven't read it.

Another aspect of the movie that I enjoyed was the relationship Ayers had with music. He would seek out his refuge in the music he played, often finding his only solace in the comfort of the notes. You could see Ayer's relationship with music clearly on his face, the love he had was in his eyes, in the way his hands played. It was artistic, and I think artists can relate to the feelings Ayers exemplified.

The final thing that propelled the story was the development of Lopez. At first he just wants a story, but soon he has a friend that he begins to care about. His concern for Ayers is evident, and this relationship is touching to watch.

Even with all of these things, I can't say that the movie was wonderful. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be. What The Soloist is is a film that offers hope to the viewer by observing the courage of Ayers. It also is a window into homelessness, and in my book, anything that sheds light on this problem deserves a special sort of place. What kind of country are we if we can't take care of our own starving, hurting, homeless people? Are we too stiff-necked to give out some money to someone in need? Oh, if you give out your money then you won't be able to buy yourself something superfluous? Oh, okay, I'm sorry. You just go right ahead and buy that extra pair of pants you've been eyeballing. That's okay. You need fifty pair anyway, to help balance the economy, since the homeless man has only one pair, unless he's really lucky and has two.

I don't get it. I understand that some people make bad choices and are sentenced to a life on the streets. People who gamble away their money and can't afford to pay their rent, or who spend their cash on drugs and other fixes instead of paying their bills. That's all understood, but what about the majority of the people? The ones who try to live, who make a mistake or two, and who ultimately end out on the streets because of a few mistakes. In fact, the entire premise of not wanting to give to a homeless person based on "they've had their chance" seems unfair. I dare say, have you not made mistakes in life? Were you not given extra help along the way? If you're reading this blog, then you are magnitudes better than millions of others out there.

The problem with homelessness can't be that we don't have enough housing. In my community, there are hundreds of houses and condos and apts up for sale/rent. I'm willing to bet this is true across the country. No, the problem with homelessness is that our country depends too much on the Almighty Dollar. We're a cut-and-paste society, with clear-cut rules and a kill-or-be-killed attitude. There is no grace in our hearts; we're all every man for himself.

That's disgusting, unbecoming, and embarrassing. What is it about our society that compels us to be ahead, to be at the top of the ladder? We look and see things we want, which are too expensive, so we get a job to make money to buy things to only want more things. That implies that the problem is deeper than money. The problem is our insatiable desire.

Yes, Desire is the true evil here. In itself, desire is not a bad thing. It motivates us to achieve things, to help people, to create vessels capable of exploring the heavens. But where should we limit our desires? How selfish are we allowed to be before we are truly selfish? Friends, I'm sad to write it, but I don't have the answer. There is no harm in buying things for yourself, but how much can we afford while our other brothers and sisters can't even eat?

The whole point of this is sickening. I can't tell you how much is too much if I don't know myself. All I know is that when the opportunity arises for us to help someone in need, we should snap it up and help with all we can. Who knows, one day we could be just another beggar on the streets.