The Soloist: Film vs. Book - Essay Example

The Soloist- Film vs. Book Revolving around two men who form an unlikely bond that develops into a great friendship, TheSoloist has been described as a compelling story which was to be expected seeing as it is based on real life accounts. The story follows the life of Steve Lopez a journalist with the Los Angeles Times and Nathan Ayers an exceptionally talented violin player who is plagued with schizophrenia that leads him to homelessness. Lopez going about his daily routine happens to listen to some good music being played on the streets and gets determined to find the player.

‘But when I go back to look for the violinist in Pershing Square I come up empty. His disappearance only makes the mystery more provocative’ (Lopez 3).He finds Ayers and strikes a conversation with him where Ayers reveals that he was a student at Julliard School of Music but had to drop out following the early onset of schizophrenia. ‘Oh, those people he says. Those were my classmates at Juilliard.’ (Lopez 7). Lopez heads on to his office certain that Ayers’ story was worth being featured on his column.

Over time, he writes numerous columns and subsequent to positive reception from readers, he is encouraged to publish a book. The book is then adapted into a film under Susannah Grant who adjusts certain details of the book. There are differences between the book and the film whereby, the screenplay by Susannah Grant depicts Lopez as a single guy that is undergoing a mid life crisis and that his ex-wife is also his editor. This impresses on one that Lopez’ life is somewhat of a struggle while in the book one gets the impression that Lopez is in fact balancing his career and family.

In the film, Catherine Keener playing his ex-wife says ‘by all means avoid responsibility’. She fictionalizes his character further by creating a scene where Lopez gets into a minor bike accident that leaves a glaring bruise on his face. In the book, the meeting between Lopez and Ayers happens without any bike accident happening. Secondly, in the movie Ayers is sitting across from the monument of his idol Beethoven whereas in the book he sits underneath it. Thirdly, in the movie Lopez is portrayed as being irritated by Ayers’ claim of being a former student of Julliard and only returns to see him after confirming his claim.

In the book, Lopez says ‘Juilliard or no, he still intrigued me’ (Lopez 10) showing that he was interested in Ayers and even asks to come see him play again. On the other hand, the book and film share one key theme of redemption and the power of music. Ayers is able to reconnect with society despite his illness after Lopez helps him get back on track with medication and donations donations of musical instruments where an instance in the book ‘Rich says he will send a student-model cello and violin by express mail…’ (Lopez 21).

From a personal perspective, I would recommend one to read the book then watch the film because the book gives one insight on how the friendship between Lopez and Ayers really develops whereas the film paints a picture of just how talented Ayers is. Fictionalizing certain aspects of the book admittedly watered down the actual story therefore I preferred reading to watching the film. For others though, there would be an appreciation for how the plight of homeless people is displayed in the film making it more sensational coupled with the great playing of music; hence more preferable.

Works Cited Lopez, Steve. (2008). The Soloist: A Lost Dream, An Unlikely Friendship, And The Redemptive Power of Music. Penguin Group: USA The Soloist. Dir. Joe Wright. Perf. Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey Jr., Catherine Keener, Tom Hollander and Lisa Gay Hamilton. 2009.