Michael Douglas has made a decades-spanning career of playing people that we shouldn’t like in films such as “Wall Street,” “Fatal Attraction,” and “A Perfect Murder.” He never begs for your affection, but he plays roles with such honesty that his characters always feel authentic, even as they’re committing acts we never imagine we’d do and saying things we hope we’d never say. In “Solitary Man,” the titular Ben Kalmen, is another instance of this for the actor, but he’s not merely rehashing previous roles. Ben misses his grandson’s birthday, scams his customers out of their money, and cheats on his girlfriend in a particularly nasty way, and yet, we’re there with him, silently praying that he won’t do one more thing to screw up his already messy life, but knowing that we’ll keep watching, riveted, when he inevitably does.
“Solitary Man” begins with Ben at a doctor’s appointment, just shy of receiving what might be very bad news. But instead of getting a test to tell him what’s wrong, Ben decides to simply go on living his life in New York City, perhaps with more reckless abandon than before. His behavior earns a divorce from his longtime love (Susan Sarandon) and he struggles as he attempts to overcome a series of bad decisions that have ruined his chances as a business man.
His current girlfriend, Jordon (Mary Louise Parker), has the connections to help him rise again, and Ben values her ability, even as he prowls for younger prey. Jordon asks him to take her daughter, Allyson (an excellent Imogen Poots, “28 Weeks Later”) to an interview at Ben’s alma mater, and Ben reluctantly agrees. When he returns to his university, he connects with a student (Jesse Eisenberg), a friend from his past (Danny DeVito), and his own youth. He squirms to avoid aging, even asking his grandson not to call him “Grandpa” to avoid looking like an old man, but he can’t escape the consequences of what he’s done.
“Solitary Man” has the feel of a novel, from its thoughtful dialogue to its emphasis on character. Director and screenwriter Brian Koppelman hasn’t amassed quite as many novels as his c0-director David Levien (who sat this one out from a writer’s perspective, though obviously contributed), but nonetheless a novelist-like attention to character development and story are always evident in his solid script. A strong sense of place — from luxury New York apartments to college town locales— also figure prominently in the film, acting as setting but also informing the story by our preconceptions of them. Koppelman and Levien (whom we interviewed earlier this month) keep the pace from plodding, a problem that can often plague more literary scripts.
But it’s not merely the script that deserves the praise; “Solitary Man” wouldn’t have worked without Douglas in its lead role. He’s warm and likable and it’s easy to see how a man who makes such bad decisions would still have a presence in the lives of people he’s hurt. There’s no malice in his behavior, just sheer, blind selfishness that threatens every one of his relationships.
As the wife he’s cast aside, Sarandon doesn’t play the victim; instead she brings strength and believability to her character. As Ben’s ever-faithful daughter, Susan, Jenna Fischer moves beyond her usual “The Office”-level of cuteness, giving Susan both a warmth and wariness that keep the character remarkably real. Parker appears only briefly, but she manages to communicate her character’s brittle but protective personality with ease.
The seemingly ubiquitous Eisenberg (he has another movie, “Holy Rollers,” coming out this weekend, too) is his typically good self, though we’d like to see him stretch a bit more. It’s great to see the reunion between Danny DeVito and Douglas, formerly frequent collaborators who haven’t worked together since 1989’s “The War of the Roses.” They’re good enough actors to pull off their longstanding friendship on film, but the off-screen reality adds an element of fun and genuine chemistry.
The real surprise is Poots, the least familiar face in the group. She gracefully walks the line between youth and maturity, playing a character who is more worldly than most of her peers thanks to an Upper East Side adolescence, but is still only in high school. She’s smart and scheming, but she doesn’t feel like a “Gossip Girl” brat and the audience couldn’t be more grateful.
Michael Penn nicely captures the mood with a strong score, but it’s hard to top the opening song: Johnny Cash’s cover of the Neil Diamond classic “Solitary Man.” While an obvious choice, picking a weathered Cash’s take was a great decision for the film’s central theme of the aging man and where he fits in the world.
Unlike so many of its seasonal brethren, “Solitary Man” isn’t able to rely on special effects and perfectly choreographed set pieces to keep audiences interested. Instead, it’s a quietly funny, moving film boosted by a good script and a great cast. [B+]
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