Solitary Man – Blu-ray Review

The Film:

Sometimes art imitates life, as such with the opening scenes in Solitary Man. In a strange bit of foreshadowing, the full-of-life Ben Kalmen (Michael Douglas) receives news from his doctor, and that news, puts a look of dread into his face. At this time in the film, audiences don’t know what the news is, but it can’t be good. Months after the theatrical release of Solitary Man, Michael Douglas was diagnosed with throat cancer, and now in hindsight, that look echoes deep within our own knowledge of his eventual throat cancer, and it undeniably permeates throughout the film.  You just can’t help it. It’s such a strong scene for the movie, but it carries over into real life – unintentionally – but there it is. Art imitates life.

Hopefully, for viewers, you can get past that aspect, since we have a marvelous performance by Douglas with a superb script, that should be Oscar-nominated.

As rich as his performance is as Ben, a low level Gordon Gekko, every great performance still needs a team to bounce it off with, and Solitary Man is a great assemble piece. Imogen Poots impresses, as does Jenna Fischer, but it’s Danny Devito that acts as an alternate mirror for Douglas. The two are old friends from nearly 30 years, and when Ben’s life dissolves through bad business decisions, sexual exploits, and a bank account that has run dry, the humbling process begins, but it’s with Danny Devito’s character that starts the motion. His Jimmy is the anti-thesis to Douglas’ Ben. Jimmy paid his dues, lives a decent life, and is content. Those are all things Ben hasn’t reached or earned. Due to the doctor’s news, Ben has gone on a sexual rampage and high rolling excursion, a promise to live life to the fullest. When Ben asks Jimmy why he hasn’t taking one of these hot young chicks out picnicking (a code word for cheating), Jimmy smiles and tells him a piece of advice that Ben seems confused about at first, but finally gets. This is were Ben changes for the good. Jimmy explains that sure, they’re hot, but it fades, and he has that at home, plus he can talk to her.

Solitary Man is at times, a ripe black comedy, but also a morality tale of the values on life, the cherishing of people more than the “in-the-moment” relationships, all set within our New Age of Not-Having-Much, an economic recession tale, that’s much needed today. With his black suits, suave demeanor, puppy-dog stare, Michael Douglas delivers the type of performance that the film needed, but it took him personally the years to do. He knows or perhaps is Ben Kalmen, even if Ben is a Gordon Gekko who decided the game isn’t worth it anymore.

The Blu-ray:

Audio/Video: Anchor Bay Entertainment delivers a solid HD presentation. The video, to me, has been an iffy experience for Anchor Bay since they joined the Blu-ray format. Most of that is due to source material and what not, but here, they deliver a rich HD presentation. No grain, noise, or artifacts. Colors are rich, blacks are deep, and details are high. Either the PCM or Dolby Digital 5.1 track is fine. Dialogue is front and center, with some music tracks filling up the rear speakers, and some nice and appropriate bass fills the sound design.

Commentary: Writers/Directors Brian Koppleman and David Levien chat about the shoot with actor Douglas McGrath for a decent track. They’re involved and honest, which makes for a decent listen, even if there’s nothing to shake up the excitement.

Alone in the Crowd: This is a making-of, that might seem like an EPK, but offers plenty of solid discussions from all of the actors on the film, characters, and working with each other. It’s quicker and more enjoyable than the commentary.

Some Trailers finish out the extras.

Conclusion: Solid performances with a great script should appeal to drama fans easily.

The Film: Rating:

The Blu-ray: Rating: