Michael Douglas can play the cad, the “Wall Street” hustler and the swashbuckler who gets the girl.
But cast him as a 60-something Lothario struggling to save his soul in a project like “Solitary Man” and you’ve really tapped into the actor’s core strengths.
“Solitary Man” arrives on DVD and Blu-ray at a curious time. The fall release could insert Douglas into the Oscar mix anew. But, more tragically, his performance is heightened by the real-life news of Douglas’ battle with throat cancer.
Neither the film nor his performance needs any off-screen boost. It’s one of 2010’s quietest pleasures, a meditation on our ability to change after decades of decadent behavior.
Douglas stars as Ben Kalmen, a successful car salesman and entrepreneur who gets some unsettling news during a medical checkup. Ben’s doctor “doesn’t like” his EKG.
Flash ahead six years later, and Ben is alive, well and chasing every skirt in town. He’s also on the cusp of a major business deal which should catapult him back to the top. Seems he cut a few moral corners a few years back and lost much of his fortune – and nearly his freedom – in the process.
Ben is seeing Jordan (Mary Louise-Parker), a woman whose business connections should seal the big deal for him. But he complicates his comeback by agreeing to escort Jordan’s lovely daughter, Allyson (Imogen Poots), to a college orientation event.
“Solitary Man” asks us to root for a cad’s redemption even if Ben isn’t interested in changing his ways. He is who he is, and he’s damn good at it. But just about everyone in his life begs to differ, from his devoted daughter (Jenna Fischer) to an old friend (Danny DeVito) who draws comfort from monogamy.
You’ll want to smack Ben as much as the 20-something women he incessantly hits on, but like the best of actors Douglas makes being a jerk somehow endearing. We know there’s a better man lurking inside, one just as sharp as the shark circling around his life story.
Douglas’ performance tells us so in every scene.
The rest of the cast offers him plenty of opportunities to shine, from Jesse Eisenberg playing the soft-spoken junior who looks up to Ben, to Ben’s ex (Susan Sarandon) who senses the decency buried deep within him.
But is it so deep it’ll never be unearthed?
Co-directors Brian Koppelman and David Levien (the screenwriting team behind “Rounders”) don’t deliver pat answers, nor do they minimize the consequences of Ben’s outsized persona. That makes the unfolding drama richer, and the stakes even higher for Ben’s potential comeback.
“Solitary Man” feels like more than just a “greatest hits” package of Douglas’ previous work. It’s another example of an actor finding a role that aligns beautifully with his natural gifts.
(Photo: Michael Douglas and Jesse Eisenberg star in “Solitary Man,” the new to DVD feature which could jump-start talk of an other Oscar nomination for Douglas. Anchor Bay Home Entertainment)
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Good film overall but not for everyone. Yes, I agree, I wanted to strangle Douglas’ character many times and I found the ending to be a bit predictable/stupid waiting at the park bench at college it “all started with” and wondering “will they or won’t they” once again (not trying to be give any spoilers so feel free to edit this comment if I have said too much).
The most important thing is Imogen Poots. Just say that name several times. I don’t know why but I find it hilarious (no disrespect to Imogen Poots but WHAT A NAME!)
Poots! Poots? Terrific!!!