The Soloist

Tim and I went to see the movie “The Soloist” today and spent most of the afternoon talking about it. I always enjoy Robert Downey Jr. no matter what he is in and I am constantly impressed with his acting ability and this movie was no exception. It was great.

I think what made this movie so good was the fact that it was a great example of reaching out to someone different, needy, and homeless only to find out that what seemed like a good idea was really not what was best for the other person. It made me think of all the times I have tried to help someone only to have it backfire. And haven’t we all done that at one time or another?

The other thing we liked was the way this movie opened our eyes to the plight of homeless people and the way they live. Tim and I were not expecting it to go in that direction and I think that was what we talked about the most. It spent quite a bit of time exposing the viewer to elements of living a homeless lifestyle in LA. It was a lot like viewing Slumdog Millionaire only in LA. My life is insulated from such living and it makes me wonder if those aren’t the people that Jesus would have been sent to save. Many of them were hopeless, lost, hearing voices, strung out on drugs, living on scraps found in dumpsters, and fighting for their little scrap of alley just to lie down and sleep.

I cannot imagine living like that.