Books Always Win

As a book-lover, I'm always on their side when it comes to books-turned-into-movies. To me, making a movie out of a book takes something away from the story. The beauty of reading comes in the form of imagination and creativity. The characters, settings, events, are exactly as you picture them. The story speaks to you. It's personal.

Movies fill in the blanks. Movies show you what to think, how to feel. You sit down and watch everything unfold. You're not nearly as involved as when you're curled up with a book, transported to that exact place and time. Movies pick and choose which parts of the book to stay loyal to, and where to add something that never appeared in the text. Sometimes, it works. Most of the time, it doesn't.

The Soloist was one that didn't work. It was another casualty in Hollywood's attempt to cash in on a story that literature was already reaping the benefits of. Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey Jr.--two great actors. But it just didn't quite hit the right notes for me. First of all, I hated the character of Steve Lopez. This is really saying something, considering I'm half in love with Robert Downey Jr. and really felt connected to the character in the book. In the movie, Lopez is single (he's married with a young daughter in the book) and pretty bitter about his life. While the real Lopez was down on his luck in some ways, he certainly wasn't as dark and blah as the movie version. I never truly accepted that this was Steve Lopez; after reading the book, I just didn't believe the character the film was trying to portray.

Jamie Foxx was pretty good as Nathaniel. He seemed to capture the rambling, scattered nature of Ayers' personality. However, even that character felt a little off. From the costumes to the flashbacks, I felt such a disconnect from the book and the Nathaniel I read about. There was an almost comedic air to much of Nathaniel's "antics," and that was never a vibe I got from the book. If anything, Lopez did a phenomenal job of relaying just how serious and borderline scary Nathaniel's moods were. I felt like the movie never really got into the nitty-gritty of the schizophrenia, and had it, the movie might have been better.

One thing I did praise were the scenes around and outside of LAMP. The destitute, dreary, and downright disgusting squalor in Los Angeles was portrayed exactly how I imagined it. Those images were pretty powerful, so I commend the movie for that.

Overall, I was underwhelmed by the film. I don't think it did justice to the characters or the true message. In trying to make a commercially successful film (which it really wasn't), movie producers sacrificed the heart of this story. I wish a film could have done more justice to Lopez and Ayers. I guess I'm satisfied in knowing that the true magic still lies in the book. Bypass the DVD and head for the nearest Borders. No disappointment there.