First Hit: Although poorly written and adequately directed there were good moments in this overly staged film.
Two very wonderful actors Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. lost their way or got lost with this poorly written film.
The basic story is that Nathaniel Ayers (Played by Foxx) is a schizophrenic musician who dropped out of Julliard and finds peace in the streets of LA playing music between buildings and under bridges.
Steve Lopes (Played by Downey) is a LA Times reporter who is looking for a story and stumbles on Ayers playing his two stringed violin in front of a statue of Beethoven. Steve Lopes becomes fascinated with Ayers after he discovers he was a Julliard Music School dropout and begins to write stories of Ayers in his newspaper columns.
This is a film about friendship and trust. However, there was something missing in the dialogue. There was something which made the dialogue seem out of place. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but it felt obvious that the dialogue didn’t capture the depth of the real life budding friendship on which this film was based.
Then there were the scenes just outside The Lamp which is a homeless shelter and rehab compound in downtown LA. Somehow the scenes outside the compound’s gates felt artificial. They felt staged and too well choreographed to be real although some of the characters felt real – it was the staging and choreography which didn’t work for me.
I thought Foxx did a wonderful job of showing us schizophrenia with the assistance of the director’s choice of using multiple voices in the background until one, which depicted Ayers’ action, emerged to forefront. I didn’t think Foxx did a very good job of fingering the notes on the cello because it was obvious he was not following the score or melody. The staged scenes in front of The Lamp were a letdown and this was the director’s fault. Downey was fine with the dialog he was given. Unfortunately, the script lacked a deep cohesiveness to bring the story together based on the Downey’s and Foxx’s friendship.
Overall: This film was a disappointment. To have such great actors and to end up with a schizophrenic film was a shame.