Solitary Man (2009)

Why so much hype?

Good movie but grossly overrated

Did you people see the same film I saw?

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

With a cast including Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon, Jesse Eisenberg and Danny DeVito, one wonders why a film such as 'Solitary Man' fails to hit the mark. It all comes down to the concept promulgated by co-directors Brian Koppelman and David Levien. Simply put, films about losers (or sad sacks as I like to call them), more often than not, don't work! Why is it that Majorie Baumgartner, writing in the Austin Chronicle, concludes that, "The actors are all charged up, too; there's just nowhere in this script for them to go?" That's because everything about Ben Kalmen (Douglas' shark who has seen better days) is pre-ordained. From the outset, the former car dealership honcho is a self-sabotaging boor who after losing all his millions, attempts to manipulate women (including his own daughter) so he can take their money to bankroll new schemes of pure self-entitlement.Sure there are a few real-life stories of sharks such as Kalmen who fall from grace; but those aren't the interesting ones. Far more interesting is the bad guy who succeeds—A Tony Soprano who is both maniacal and charming at the same time. There will always be interesting, conflicting characters who oppose a Tony Soprano—and there's always the hope that someone will stop him (but sometimes we want Tony to get the better of his opponents—even though we know deep down, he's not an honorable or ethical human being). But in the case of a Ben Kalmen, the perennial has-been loser, it's hard to root for someone who is so unpleasant.I have no doubt that the films' scenarists' strategy is to hold up Kalmen's story as a cautionary tale. Unlike Michael Douglas' iconic, charming rogue 'Gordon Gekko', whose 'Greed is good' philosophy is the underpinning of the insightful and entertaining 1987 film 'Wall Street', what we're supposed to get from the 'Solitary Man' is that 'greed is bad'. Kalmen simplistically is driven by greed and that's why he uses women. Ultimately, the filmmakers try to make a case for Kalmen that he's charming but he also must be punished. The 'charming' moments only involve male-bonding: his affection for his son, the dating advice he gives to impressionable student, Crestin (Jesse Eisenberg), as well as the mutual affection between Kalmen and long-lost friend Jimmy Marino (but such bonding only goes so far; Kalmen sabotages his relationship with Jimmy, failing to acknowledge his old friend's true spirit of generosity).As to his relationships with women, it's one monstrous fling after another. Kalmen beds the 17 year old daughter of his girlfriend, while he accompanies her on a trip to look at a college campus. When the girlfriend's daughter reveals that Kalmen went to bed with her, the mother reverses her decision to pull strings, to aid Kalmen, so he can get back into the auto dealership business. Then Kalmen is cut off by his own daughter, after she learns he had an affair with the mother of one of her young son's friends. Soon afterward, Kalmen hits on Crestin's girlfriend while he's drunk at a party. Crestin, generous in spirit, excuses Kalmen, accepting the excuse that he was intoxicated. The final coup de grace is when Kalmen is beaten up by an ex-police officer, hired by his former girlfriend, who doesn't want him to be anywhere in the vicinity of her daughter, the one who Kalmen slept with.At the beginning of the film we learn that Kalmen has a heart condition but never follows up with the doctors. His explanation to his ex-wife as to why he chose not to go for the follow-up check-ups is perhaps the only real brilliant moment in the film (in essence, Kalmen concludes the check-ups are more beneficial to the doctors than to the patients, since his condition is more a lifestyle issue than something the doctors can really successfully treat). Nonetheless, the alarming diagnosis and Kalmen's decision to ignore it, fails to provide a cogent explanation for his continuing bad behavior.In the end, the cautionary tale of a sad sack loser, driven by greed and a desperate obsession to manipulate women, doesn't quite ring true. There's something a little too pathetic about a Ben Kalmen and the filmmakers attempt to humanize him, falls flat. Better to focus on a character with an ego, who gets away with his bad behavior, instead of offering up a drab morality play, where the loser gets his predictable comeuppance.

Let me say right away that I am not generally a fan of dramas, of the story of someone destroying their life, or recovering it. However I found something about this movie mesmerizing. My guess is that it was the lack of sentimentality I found so appealing. The main character was not a cartoonishly evil villain, but neither did was he villain with a heart of gold. I don't want to say that he was realistic in that he represented the behavior of a large number of men; rather he came across as a very real example of a particular class of men. And likewise for all the other characters --- all portrayed with sympathy, and as real human beings, not archetypes. My one complaint was with the ending. It's not that I dislike the ambiguity: does our hero choose love or sex? It's that, after the richness of everything that has gone before, the understanding of the complex motives that drive people to do foolish things, even as they know they are foolish (and, also, sometimes, to do beautiful things), the choice that is presented is so simple-minded. The implication is that, sure, this guy can, after six years of being a dick, just decide that this phase of his life is over, it's time to go back to being a decent guy, and everyone else around him will just accept the change. It's a jarring piece of garbage sentimentality which ruins the rest of the movie. How could the ending have been handled better? I think at the very least, the musings at the end about why he did what he did could have been augmented with some acknowledgment of the larger picture, something like thoughts on the difference between what we like and what we want, or how hard it is to not simply reach out for what you want, even after plenty of experience has taught you it's not what makes you happy. I'm trying to avoid saying something trite, which implies our hero has learned a deep and valuable lesson from his experiences, while also trying to suggest that he's not a complete fool, that he can look back on his life and connect the dots. But the ending is (of course) only one part of a movie; and I have very little to complain about the rest.

In my view this was not ready for a breakdown let alone shoot. The script needed at least six more months of rewrites.Because of this even though the idea is great and the same cast would easily do it much better justice if the screenplay was ready and if the direction allowed them a little bit more freedom.Characters seem to be outlines, barely painted with broad strokes, flat, unfinished. Director did not give the actors freedom they needed to salvage the situation and perhaps they didn't feel like investing themselves deeper into the film, perhaps realizing the screenplay is not ready for the prime time.The story also need3ed further development, because on screen it comes off as flat and doesn't suck you in, characters are shallow and two faced at the very least, their actions are disconnected.What could be a fantastic scene between two of my favorite actors(Douglas and Poots) is very flat, in big part due to writing and direction but actors didn't invest themselves in it either, it's very cut and dry and I don't think the range of both character's actions in other places in the film makes it stick.The ending which could easily be my favorite type of ending failed to realize it's potential as well, this would be due to direction and cinematography, both distant and not really supporting the crucial moment.Biggest problem is the unpolished writing, characters are merely stereotypical outlines, I would like to believe the exact same cast could do a million times better just six months of rewrites later.

(Credit IMDb) Ben Kalman is aging: he has heart problems, his marriage is over, he's lost a fortune after being caught cutting corners in his East Coast car business, and he's sleeping with as many women as possible - the younger the better. He's chosen his current girlfriend, Jordan, because her father can help him get a new auto dealership; she's asked him to escort her daughter, Allyson, 18, on a visit to a Boston college campus. He behaves badly, and there are consequences to his love life, his finances, and his relationship with his daughter and grandson. Is there anywhere he can turn?Solitary Man is a very good movie on its own, but due to Michael's incredible, Oscar worthy performance, that makes it just a bit better then the movie. Solitary Man has a great story, and some very good central characters surrounding it as the center pieces. From the very beginning, we see Douglas will take any chance to make money for himself, even if it means missing his Grandson's birthday party, or even asking his daughter for a loan. He cares about one person and one person only, himself. That doesn't really change much, throughout the duration of the movie, but he learns an important lesson near the end. Life is precious. Career revival? Maybe not, but it's certainly one of Douglas's finest showcases of acting.Performances. Michael Douglas gives a defining performance. He is Oscar worthy, or at least close to it. Despite his selfish nature, he remains a likable person, with an uncanny sense of charisma. I even felt for him some times, and that takes charisma. He's still got it. Susan Sarandon doesn't have that big a part, but she looks great, and her speech near the end are extremely moving. Danny DeVito is solid with what he had to do. Jesse Eisenberg has a small role, he did well. I enjoyed his scenes with Douglas.Bottom line. It's a very good movie, but Douglas clearly makes it. Without his heart and determination, I doubt it would have been as good as it was. That being said, I loved it, and hope you will too. Highly recommended.8/10