The Soloist

THE SOLOIST features original music by Golden Globe and Academy Award-winning composer Dario Marianelli, as well as popular and powerful works by Beethoven (Eroica, Ninth Symphony) and the haunting Cello Suite No. 1 by J.S. Bach. It is directed by Joe Wright (Pride and Prejudice). Based on a true story, The Soloist is the amazing tale of an unlikely friendship, and the redemptive power of music. LA Times reporter Steve Lopez (Robert Downey, Jr.) befriends a homeless Juilliard trained cellist, Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx) while looking for a new article for the paper. Lopez discovers that Nathaniel was once a promising classical at Juilliard, but various pressures and mounting schizophrenia caused him to drop out. Enlisting the help of doctors and professional musicians, Lopez attempts to help Nathaniel regain his dignity, develop his musical talent and free himself of his demons. Throughout, Lopez endures disappointments, questions his own motives and acknowledges that Nathaniel has taught him about courage and humanity. THE SOLOIST is reminiscent of the Academy Award-winning film Shine, one of the biggest movies of the 1990s, which told the true story of the rehabilitation of pianist David Helfgott.