SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

2hotFeature one of my absolute favorites!

Lucybespro It is a performances centric movie

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

mark fraunhofer 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.

billywallace I liked everything about Solitary Man except the main point of the story, to wit, men are bad and women are good. Men are stupid. Women are wise. Men are mean. Women are not. Or,perhaps, men are bad except for a few who may be good but not really very attractive.It's too bad such an excellent cast was wasted on this script. Solitary Man reminds me of the Dutch film Antonia's Line. It's another well crafted, well cast, well acted, will shot, well edited film with a silly script. Again we see wonderful women and girls who live in a world where most of the men are stupid, violent and crass. The few men who don't fit that description are rather dull and compliant worshipers of the aforementioned women. Of course the sons of these women are good because unlike the majority of the members of their gender they have been reared in a matriarchy. Solitary Man and Antonia's Line have nothing in common except for their intellectual underpinnings.

theauntsavant With the considerable build-up for the long-awaited sequel to the mega hit potboiler Wall Street that starred Michael Douglas, fans of the original film, understandably so, flocked to theaters for Wall Street 2,15 years later.But while a large majority of the movie-going public's attention was diverted to the powerful role that garnered him critical praise, and was touted as his return—Douglas' other film; the Indie drama Solitary Man, quietly previewed with less fanfare of course than you'd expect for a hugely anticipated follow-up.Therefore, technically, Douglas' comeback is that of an aging, formerly successful automobile magnate, who at the prospect of possibly facing a serious health condition proceeds to systematically destroy his marriage and professional reputation as his life goes into free fall.In choosing to deal with this probability by not dealing with it at all, subsequently causes Douglas' character to spiral out-of-control into a self-imposed mid-life crisis, where the story picks up. We find him attempting to regain his once high profile, privileged lifestyle in the world of big auto industry wheelers and dealers.As compassionate human beings we like to root for the underdog to rebound when he gets knocked down or tries to regain what he's lost. However, there's little if any sympathy for this solitary man, except when his reckless behavior threatens to jeopardize his relationship with his daughter and grandson. Then we see some hint of penitence.Likewise, a person in peril will nearly always instinctively elicit audience reaction, but Douglas' portrayal of the self-destructive, foul-mouthed figure is so indisputably warped it is virtually impossible to view him sympathetically. Sort of like watching a train wreck in slow motion.The hypothesis isn't focused so much on Douglas' fear of mortality or even having lost his lucrative livelihood, as it is on his visible tendency towards attracting younger women—even in the presence of his daughter and ex-wife (played by Susan Sarandon, who coincidentally is also in Wall Street 2).Yet again, due to his unapologetic attitude for his actions and lack of display of any real desire to redeem himself for the damage he's done to his family and his career, you can't help feeling justified in not investing emotionally in him.

ron-965-533962 Hollywood, like the lead character in this movie deserves Zero viewers. Why pay hard earned money to watch a corrupt individual's despicable actions? From the onset of the movie it is clear the man is a womanizer, he shows more attention to a women in the diner that he's attending with his ex-wife and son, than he does to his flesh and blood son. I quickly alerted my wife, "the man is a womanizer". And the movie goes on to explicitly show how low of character the lead is, in a borderline pornographic way. The act that is the climax of the movie is despicable. I am highly disappointed with the movie "Solitary Man" -- it highlights the worst of human nature and it saddens me that millions of dollars were spent that could have influenced society in a positive way, but instead lower the bar to the savage level.