Solitary Man (2009)
Michael Douglas is a wonder in this film. You could by a cynic and say that the arrogant, energetic, womanizing, aging man here is just Michael Douglas, and that it's not acting at all.
But that's unfair, because he pulls it off with such responsive ease, it's a wonder. Not that he's a likable person. In fact, that's one of the things to get used to, having to watch a lecherous old man push and connive his way into a night with one young woman after another. It's actually the director and writer to blame, here, because this is a tired and abusive theme. As if all these old timers are really so irresistible !? (I'm thinking Clint Eastwood, here, too). Sorry, dudes, but these young women have much better meat to hunker down with. I mean, the real Douglas and the real Eastwood have that star power thing that might be true in real life--I can imagine wanting to say I slept with Michael Douglas the rest of my life, maybe. Maybe.
But Michael Douglas plays a big time car salesman here, not himself, and he's already an aging loser by the time the movie begins, convicted of felonies, estranged with most of his family and previous life. That's the essence of the title, that this once connected man with the world before him was increasingly alone. And there seemed to be little he could do about it.
As aggravating as all this is--you don't ever feel sorry for him--it's a sharply witty screenplay and the editing is fast, the acting first rate. In fact, it's in many ways a good movie. It's a contrivance, for sure, and pushes too hard, but in the same ways, so did "The Blind Side" with the extraordinary acting of Sandra Bullock. So we have here a worthwhile movie despite all its flaws, some of them pretty obvious. And Danny DeVito is his usual self, well cast (hate to say) as a deli owner.
But there is no escaping a larger point or two. First of all, Douglas is a predator who seems to get away with it all, which is sort of okay, but his former wife, played in a brief role by Susan Sarandon, has to take on that most horrible or roles--the ever forgiving wife, waiting for her man despite his really extensive selfishness and downright meanness. And then there is the nearly impossible scenario of the daughter of his current girlfriend suddenly losing all resistance to the man. But I say too much. This daughter, by the way, is played with more artistry than her role probably required by an impressive Imogen Poots. She's worth keeping a watch on.
But Michael Douglas is the bread, the butter, and the dessert here. He appears in every scene, and his acting is perfect. And his character does represent a problem for older men (and women) losing some kind of sexual aura (and ability). And so the man copes, in his own excessive way. Brace yourself for the other stuff, and watch him roll.
Michael Douglas is a wonder in this film. You could by a cynic and say that the arrogant, energetic, womanizing, aging man here is just Michael Douglas, and that it's not acting at all.
But that's unfair, because he pulls it off with such responsive ease, it's a wonder. Not that he's a likable person. In fact, that's one of the things to get used to, having to watch a lecherous old man push and connive his way into a night with one young woman after another. It's actually the director and writer to blame, here, because this is a tired and abusive theme. As if all these old timers are really so irresistible !? (I'm thinking Clint Eastwood, here, too). Sorry, dudes, but these young women have much better meat to hunker down with. I mean, the real Douglas and the real Eastwood have that star power thing that might be true in real life--I can imagine wanting to say I slept with Michael Douglas the rest of my life, maybe. Maybe.
But Michael Douglas plays a big time car salesman here, not himself, and he's already an aging loser by the time the movie begins, convicted of felonies, estranged with most of his family and previous life. That's the essence of the title, that this once connected man with the world before him was increasingly alone. And there seemed to be little he could do about it.
As aggravating as all this is--you don't ever feel sorry for him--it's a sharply witty screenplay and the editing is fast, the acting first rate. In fact, it's in many ways a good movie. It's a contrivance, for sure, and pushes too hard, but in the same ways, so did "The Blind Side" with the extraordinary acting of Sandra Bullock. So we have here a worthwhile movie despite all its flaws, some of them pretty obvious. And Danny DeVito is his usual self, well cast (hate to say) as a deli owner.
But there is no escaping a larger point or two. First of all, Douglas is a predator who seems to get away with it all, which is sort of okay, but his former wife, played in a brief role by Susan Sarandon, has to take on that most horrible or roles--the ever forgiving wife, waiting for her man despite his really extensive selfishness and downright meanness. And then there is the nearly impossible scenario of the daughter of his current girlfriend suddenly losing all resistance to the man. But I say too much. This daughter, by the way, is played with more artistry than her role probably required by an impressive Imogen Poots. She's worth keeping a watch on.
But Michael Douglas is the bread, the butter, and the dessert here. He appears in every scene, and his acting is perfect. And his character does represent a problem for older men (and women) losing some kind of sexual aura (and ability). And so the man copes, in his own excessive way. Brace yourself for the other stuff, and watch him roll.