There are three ways that Joe Wright's The Soloist can go. It can end up sharing the fate of the recent bomb Resurrecting the Champ, which similarly was about a reporter and a homeless man. Or it can be a modest success, in the tradition of many feel-good dramas involving obstacles overcome, and win the hearts of audiences more than it hits with critics and awards. Or it can be like Wright's other two films (Pride & Prejudice and Atonement), and garner Oscar buzz all around. Despite the familiar, uplifting plot scenario, I'm going to guess the film goes in the last direction. After all, as Patrick said in August, it has four things the Academy loves: "1) Homeless 2) Musician with 3) Mental Problems and 4) A Dream." And now it also has another Oscar favorite in two-time nominated actress Catherine Keener, who has joined the cast, according to Variety.In The Soloist, Keener will play the wife of Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez, who we previously learned will be played by fellow Oscar nominee Robert Downey, Jr. The true story follows Lopez as he discovers Nathaniel Ayers (Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx), a homeless, schizophrenic musician with aspirations of playing at L.A.'s Disney Hall. To me, the plot sounds like an adaptation of that old joke about how to get to Carnegie Hall (practice!), but I assume Lopez's collection of articles, "From Skid Row to Disney Hall" are not so comic. However, wih such a talented team -- including Oscar nominated screenwriter Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich) -- it will at least have to be entertaining.
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