Solitary Man (2009) User Reviews

Very Good

[bob-rutzel-1 · 7/10 · 17 September 2010]

Ben (Douglas) got caught in a car scam when he owned numerous car dealerships and paid a hefty fine for his role. He lost his wife and is trying to get his life back by setting up another car dealership.

The title of this could have been Scorpion because a scorpion does what a scorpion does regardless of circumstances and anyone and anything around it. Ben is a womanizer and that seems to be on his mind all the time despite everything else going wrong in his life. And, that never seems to change.

Ben is likable to all, but when we see him we do not like him and wish he would do the right things. There is a moment, in the beginning, when we feel Ben has it all together, has all the answers, but then we discover we were wrong. He has the gift of gab, but even though still likable, the people around him do not trust him and don't believe him either…..yet they hope the best for him.

This was a great job by Douglas so much so that I felt his pain when he reflected from time to time. A great supporting cast brings everything home to us and we are helpless to do anything but hope Ben finally realizes what he is up against. An Oscar nomination for Douglas may be in the works, but Jenna Fischer who played Ben's daughter, Susan, may get a Best Supporting nod. She was us watching Ben and hoping.

The real winner in here is the dialogue throughout. It was honest and effective.

In the beginning, Johnny Cash sings the song Solitary Man in a slow rhythmic way to let us know Ben's plight, but the song is about women who did him wrong and that was NOT the case here. Did I hear someone say, "Ooops?" It is Ben's sexual nature that does him wrong, not any woman. The ending to this story leaves us with a choice as to what we would like to see happen, but remember the scorpion.

Violence: Yes, some, not much Sex: No. Nudity: No. Sexual Content: Yes, almost throughout Language: Yes, but not much.

Worth at least a solitary viewing.

[lewiskendell · 6/10 · 19 March 2011]

"You can't cheat death, Benny. Nobody can, no matter how many 19-year-olds you talk into your bed."

The topic of the mid-life crisis and men losing their identity and sense of self as they get older has been fertile ground for movies in the past, and Solitary Man is another entry into that sub-genre. 

It's a drama with slight comedic elements. Michael Douglas stars as a once powerful man who lost his wealth and position when he was caught running a scam. He fills that void with ill-advised trysts with young women and depending emotionally on his exasperated daughter. When his last-ditch attempt to regain his past career is derailed because of another poor decision, he has to confront what his life has become, his own self- destructive behavior, and how his choices have affected the people around him. This isn't a ground-breaking story, but it's certainly watchable and occasionally emotionally involving. 

The real reason to see Solitary Man is the cast. Along with Douglas, the movie stars Mary-Louise Parker, Imogen Poots, Danny DeVito, Susan Sarandon, Jesse Eisenberg, and Jenna Fisher. Some of the parts are bigger than others (I really wish Sarandon would have been a larger part of the movie), but fans of any of them will want to see this. 

For everyone else, Solitary Man is a movie you should watch if it piques your interest. Will you be adding it to the list of your all-time favorites? Probably not. It's definitely worth ninety minutes on a Sunday afternoon, though.

The more things change...

[Siamois · 6/10 · 11 August 2010]

Solitary Man tells the story of Ben Kalmen (Michael Douglas in a good performance), a formerly successful car dealer now on a downward spiral. Now close to 60 years old, Ben seems to be living a sort of late identity crisis, chasing younger women and trying desperately to start a new business while his personal life goes down the drain as quickly as his financial situation.

The direction and writing, by Brian Koppelman and David Levien, takes a bittersweet approach to this story, chronicling the events while elegantly letting us decide what we think of Ben. In this respect, I felt they were honest and not manipulative. Unfortunately, this will also make it hard for some people to relate to the subject, unless they have contemplated those situations themselves.

The story is quite simple at its heart and tackles issues that are becoming more and more prevalent in our society. That is, we are constantly told we deserve it all, we deserve it now and we deserve it forever. Ben (implicitly and explicitly) would like to be the person he used to be, has a hard time redefining facets of his life.

Viewers will have different takes on Ben, ranging from admirable to pathetic but he is never demonized nor sainted in the movie. Unfortunately, while the themes are strongly driven throughout the film, the story itself looks more like a series of anecdotes, some of which are not stringed in the most elegant way.

The whole cast around Douglas (quite an ensemble) is excellent, except Susan Sarandon who is surprisingly bland and not up to her usually high standards. I felt her characters had few scenes but they were key to invest the audience and something was lacking there.

The film's ending is great and more food for thoughts but overall, Solitary Man falls short of being a classic due to a few writing issues.

A creepy character drags us through his own disintegration

[terryreport · 10 September 2010]

This movie is unlike any you are likely to see this year or the next few years. It seems somewhat like a French or Euro remake in that the story revolves around a man who "flaunts convention" and sleeps with any young woman who pleases him, even though his family (ex-wife, adult offspring) are well aware of his bedroom adventures and taunt him about his behavior.

His current girlfriend, who apparently knows something of and tolerates his loose standards, presses him to go with her daughter to a college admission interview over a weekend out of town. When he seduces the daughter, it is a shocking turn of events that marks this film as strikingly different. When she reveals the blatant transgression, the shocks continue. (Am I in Paris here?) So much for the first third or so of the film, which really amounts to the set-up. Disaster follows Michael Douglas' character around like a bad haircut. His chance for a comeback in business, and life, is squashed by the influential relations of his now ex-girlfriend and he descends farther into a world only he would want to inhabit.

With a more traditional storyline, this is where he would either become some sort of psycho killer or pull himself up and out to rebuild his life. Nothing doing here. There is a lot more down and self degradation to follow. He's on a mission.

I was wondering what could trigger not just a moral collapse, but that of a human being who, were are told, was one day the toast of the business world in New York and made so many millions that he had a college library named after him. You see, Ben Kalman, the main character, behaves like someone with no moral backbone at all, someone who either knows no limits or is bent on self destruction.

Fearing that the audience couldn't figure this thing out for themselves, the movie serves an explanation up complete, as if Ben Kalman, victim of himself, could somehow suddenly understand why he was doing what he was doing and consider the idea of change. All too pat, and not believable to boot. We are made to, forced to, care about a deeply flawed character and given an explanation that just doesn't hold water. If he were capable of this level of creepiness, it seems very unlikely that he would have risen to such heights and been loved and adored by so many. Obviously, there must have been some deep character flaw in him all along, but we have no idea what it might have been.

Otherwise decent people do, every day, go off the deep end. Some people commit acts of unkindness, even violence, for which friends and family can never forgive. How can one bit of unfortunate news about possible health problems send a man so far away from his grounding on planet earth and cause him to ruin everything in his life? I don't know, which is one reason, although this is a startlingly original movie with good to great acting all around, that I ultimately don't care about it and wish I could forget it.

There was one truly wise scene with DeVito discussing why he never chases young women that was almost worth the price of admission.

Doug Terry

Some themes of aging, sex, sexuality, and sex (yes)...and an amazing Michael Douglas

[secondtake · 7/10 · 8 January 2011]

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 Delivers a great performance in an unbalanced, uneven character study

[bmacwade · 6/10 · 19 May 2010]

It is rare for an American film to give us a despicable protagonist from beginning to end, but that is one of the notable achievements of Solitary Man (2009), the latest opus from Brian Koppleman and David Levien, the talented writers who gave us the very entertaining Rounders (1998) and Oceans 13 (2007). They have created a character who speaks his mind and will not hesitate to harm or manipulate others. I just wish the film lived-up to its quality beginning and ending. The middle of the film has clichés and lulls that could have been ironed-out. Nevertheless, Solitary Man is superior to two other films this year about white men going through late-life crises, Paper Man and Multiple Sarcasms.

The movie starts out very well. Dialogue is crisp and the static, medium-long shots quickly establish the film's clean aesthetic. We are immediately introduced to Ben Kalmen (Michael Douglas), a disgraced, unemployed, womanizing 60 year-old man who ruled a tri-state network of auto dealerships in the 80s and 90s. But now, he carries more pounds and no net worth (as Gordon Gekko might say). His dealerships were caught running a leasing scam that screwed both customers and the auto manufacturer. FTC fine and legal fees have washed him out. But he is no less bitter, cantankerous or cynical. Nor is he willing to grow up, a primary theme of this character study.

No sooner do we see him run away from prescribed heart tests, Ben agrees to escort his girlfriend's 18 year-old daughter, Allyson (played by British starlet Imogen Poots), to his ala mater in Massachusetts to grease her application interview and assure her acceptance. The movie treats us to two excellent scenes that should raise most viewers' expectations. First, Ben and Allyson exchange rapid-fire put downs and flirtations at the airport while other middle-aged businessmen stare at Ben in a mixture of envy and discomfort. Second, we're treated to one of the movie's best lines as Ben gets into a scuffle with a student on the quad. So far, so good. At times, the film has a beautiful mix of comedy, drama, and shamelessness that most guys (myself included) should like.

But the middle of the movie goes soft, it seems. Ben's life begins to tear at the seams, which is well established and directed. But the plot has him going back to his old campus with his tail between his legs. That would be fine if he was going to work for the university (he was a major donor when his businesses were at their peak). But the film chooses the uncomfortable comedy route of the dirty old man on campus. as Ben reconnects with his wiser sage (a refreshingly calm Danny DeVito), takes a job at his diner, and ends up embarrassing himself at more than one kegger. While I agree that the plot required him to go into exile out of New York City, I was a little disappointed to see his ex-wife (Susan Sarandon) disappear for a long stretch in the film, while his daughter (jenna Fischer) gets a boost of screen time in a contrived and somewhat false subplot. Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland) makes a few appearances as a sophomore hoping to make Ben his mentor. We see time and again how Ben is a poor role model, and often his own worst enemy. But what could have been a satisfying on-campus subplot seemed to be where the movie ground to a halt, and ended up being as awkward and aloof as Eisenberg's character.

After some thought, I think I know why this film didn't work for me. I don't think Ben's back story was effectively presented. Quite often, he is told (and therefore we are informed) of his past actions by his daughter and ex-wife. We are introduced to Ben well after his late-life crisis has begun. I wonder if the film would have been better served by a prologue scene, or an earlier staring point (with the frat parties cut out towards the end). When Ben speaks to others, the film works. When others describe Ben's past to him (with the notable exceptions of Sarandon and DeVito) the film seems to suffer.

Artists are free to make decisions, of course. But I was a little surprised to learn that Levien stepped-aside and let Koppleman do most of the writing. They had toyed with this story for years. But I wonder if they had reviewed the script enough. They are clearly talented, experienced writers who know how to speed-up stories through the middle act (does anyone remember the blazingly-fast set-up in Oceans Thirteen?). But with Solitary Man, they set out to make a small independent film their way, at their pace. That, plus the non-Hollywood ending deserves a lot of credit. But perhaps such a strong performance by Douglas deserved a firmer and less clichéd second act. His character needed time in exile to build a respectable comeback. But instead he spent most of his time with characters and subplots that diminished his presence and the audience's enjoyment of the film. Having an unlikable character complete a personal journey is no easy task (see Mike Leigh's Naked (1993) to appreciate it done wonderfully). But I fear that Koppleman and Levien set a high bar that they could not reach half of the time in this film.

Thorough depiction of a (upper)midlife crisis

[siderite · 7/10 · 9 October 2010]

Michael Dougls plays a great role here, as the 60 year old who refuses to accept the consequences of aging. He does all kinds of risky things, chases skirts, but he is slowly falling down. Why is Douglas so good at movies where his character falls hard? :)

The cast is very good, but let's face it, neither Danny de Vito nor Mary-Louise Parker or Susan Sarandon have detailed roles. This is a one man show, appropriate for its title, and a show it is.

Now for the bad parts: the film is pretty boring. Sad to say, but even the bright meteoric crash of a Michael Douglas character is not that interesting when it happens at the age of 60. There are lessons to be learned, that's for certain, but not that many. You don't even see how he manages to convince 30 year olds to have sex with him, you just see them in his bed, the script being (too) focused solely on his internal struggle.

Bottom line: I think no person under 30 could really enjoy this film, even if it is a good movie. It is targeted at aging men and, maybe, some of the women, as a social learning opportunity. It is one of those descriptions of a situation or a man that you take with you as a life lesson, rather than a story with twists and turns. A movie photograph.

The Vidiot Reviews...

[capone666 · 7/10 · 9 September 2010]

Solitary Man

The reason older men gravitate towards younger women is because, unlike older women, they cannot tell the difference between 8-carat and 24-carat.

And while the smarmy dingo in this drama isn't buying precious gems for his Lolitas, he is sleeping with them.

When his doctor tells him that he doesn't have long to live, Ben (Michael Douglas) begins philandering.

Divorced from his wife (Susan Sarandon), he shacks up with Jordan (Mary Louise Parker). But when he beds her daughter (Imogen Poots), he is ostracized.

Destitute, he turns to his daughter (Jenna Fischer). But when that fails, he returns to his old college, in search of his youth.

A lamentable account of a midlife Lothario learning life lessons too late, Solitary Man features a poignant plot and a first-rate performance from Douglas.

Nevertheless, older men do fulfill the needs of younger women, i.e. paternal love and the desire to change diapers. (Green Light)

No one to relate to and root for!

[Hellmant · 6/10 · 16 September 2010]

'SOLITARY MAN': Three Stars (Out of Five)

Michael Douglas stars in this comedy / drama written by Brian Koppelman and directed by Koppelman and David Levien. The team has previously co-written such films as 'OCEAN'S THIRTEEN', 'THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE (both directed by Steven Soderbergh), 'RUNAWAY JURY', 'ROUNDERS', 'WALKING TALL' and 'KNOCKAROUND GUYS' (Which they also both directed). The film features an impressive supporting cast including Jesse Eisenberg, Danny DeVito, Mary-Louise Parker, Susan Sarandon and 'THE OFFICE's Jenna Fischer. Despite all that talent the film only got a limited theatrical release (in which it made $4.35 million), some film festival play and is now dumped on video. The direct to video market is a lot bigger business than it used to be though and just about every major film star has appeared in a direct to video release. It no longer has anything to do with the film's quality it's just a matter of whether the studios think they can market the film to a theater going audience and even films with such high profile filmmakers and as many A list celebrities as this end up playing to a mostly home video audience!

Michael Douglas plays Ben Kalmen a once highly successful automobile businessman who was caught using unsavory business tactics and has now fallen greatly down the business ladder. He's also divorced and despised by his son-in-law. He keeps in contact with his ex (Sarandon), daughter (Fischer) and grandson (Jake Siciliano) but on uneasy terms due to his questionable behavior and known womanizing ways. He's now seeing a woman (Parker) due to her father's business connections and still sleeping with as many women as he can. He's asked to escort his girlfriend's daughter (Imogen Poots) to a Boston college campus which were his old stomping grounds. Due to his troubles with temptations he gets in more trouble and ends up alienating himself from almost all of his friends and family.

The movie is well directed and an interesting character study but the lead character is just too unlikeable for my taste. He's so despicable that it's almost impossible to root for him but that's what the movie wants you to do. They make him a very charismatic and likable guy in other ways and they do bring in a storyline that somewhat explains why he feels he needs to act the way he does but I still find his actions too hard to forgive. Douglas does a great job playing the guy and his performance is interesting. The supporting cast is all adequate and the directing and writing as well. The problem is that were left with no one to relate to and root for, as all of the other characters are underdeveloped, and it does feel like the film wants you to like and forgive Kalemen. Not a bad film but by no means a very good one either.

Watch our review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YDpWRaEnYQ

Michael Douglas in a one-man show

[larry-411 · 6/10 · 24 September 2009]

I attended the World Premiere of "Solitary Man" at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. This is clearly a vehicle for Michael Douglas and fans will fall in love with the film. It's hard to imagine these names as supporting cast members but Douglas is joined by Mary Louise Parker, Danny Devito, Jesse Eisenberg, Susan Sarandon, and Jenna Fischer. These wonderful actors could have been used to a greater extent and I found myself wanting more ensemble interaction, but kudos to all for being willing to take a back seat to Douglas. Written by Brian Koppelman and co-directed by Koppelman and David Levien, "Solitary Man" is chock full of dialogue and essentially a one-man show.

Despite strong performances, a drab morality play where a loser gets his predictable comeuppance

[Turfseer · 4/10 · 11 August 2014]

With a cast including Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon, Jesse Eisenberg and Danny DeVito, one wonders why a film such as 'Solitary Man' fails to hit the mark. It all comes down to the concept promulgated by co-directors Brian Koppelman and David Levien. Simply put, films about losers (or sad sacks as I like to call them), more often than not, don't work! Why is it that Majorie Baumgartner, writing in the Austin Chronicle, concludes that, "The actors are all charged up, too; there's just nowhere in this script for them to go?" That's because everything about Ben Kalmen (Douglas' shark who has seen better days) is pre-ordained. From the outset, the former car dealership honcho is a self-sabotaging boor who after losing all his millions, attempts to manipulate women (including his own daughter) so he can take their money to bankroll new schemes of pure self-entitlement.

Sure there are a few real-life stories of sharks such as Kalmen who fall from grace; but those aren't the interesting ones. Far more interesting is the bad guy who succeeds—A Tony Soprano who is both maniacal and charming at the same time. There will always be interesting, conflicting characters who oppose a Tony Soprano—and there's always the hope that someone will stop him (but sometimes we want Tony to get the better of his opponents—even though we know deep down, he's not an honorable or ethical human being). But in the case of a Ben Kalmen, the perennial has-been loser, it's hard to root for someone who is so unpleasant.

I have no doubt that the films' scenarists' strategy is to hold up Kalmen's story as a cautionary tale. Unlike Michael Douglas' iconic, charming rogue 'Gordon Gekko', whose 'Greed is good' philosophy is the underpinning of the insightful and entertaining 1987 film 'Wall Street', what we're supposed to get from the 'Solitary Man' is that 'greed is bad'.

Kalmen simplistically is driven by greed and that's why he uses women. Ultimately, the filmmakers try to make a case for Kalmen that he's charming but he also must be punished. The 'charming' moments only involve male-bonding: his affection for his son, the dating advice he gives to impressionable student, Crestin (Jesse Eisenberg), as well as the mutual affection between Kalmen and long-lost friend Jimmy Marino (but such bonding only goes so far; Kalmen sabotages his relationship with Jimmy, failing to acknowledge his old friend's true spirit of generosity).

As to his relationships with women, it's one monstrous fling after another. Kalmen beds the 17 year old daughter of his girlfriend, while he accompanies her on a trip to look at a college campus. When the girlfriend's daughter reveals that Kalmen went to bed with her, the mother reverses her decision to pull strings, to aid Kalmen, so he can get back into the auto dealership business. Then Kalmen is cut off by his own daughter, after she learns he had an affair with the mother of one of her young son's friends. Soon afterward, Kalmen hits on Crestin's girlfriend while he's drunk at a party. Crestin, generous in spirit, excuses Kalmen, accepting the excuse that he was intoxicated. The final coup de grace is when Kalmen is beaten up by an ex-police officer, hired by his former girlfriend, who doesn't want him to be anywhere in the vicinity of her daughter, the one who Kalmen slept with.

At the beginning of the film we learn that Kalmen has a heart condition but never follows up with the doctors. His explanation to his ex-wife as to why he chose not to go for the follow-up check-ups is perhaps the only real brilliant moment in the film (in essence, Kalmen concludes the check-ups are more beneficial to the doctors than to the patients, since his condition is more a lifestyle issue than something the doctors can really successfully treat). Nonetheless, the alarming diagnosis and Kalmen's decision to ignore it, fails to provide a cogent explanation for his continuing bad behavior.

In the end, the cautionary tale of a sad sack loser, driven by greed and a desperate obsession to manipulate women, doesn't quite ring true. There's something a little too pathetic about a Ben Kalmen and the filmmakers attempt to humanize him, falls flat. Better to focus on a character with an ego, who gets away with his bad behavior, instead of offering up a drab morality play, where the loser gets his predictable comeuppance.

A man out of options, who refuses to notice

[Chris Knipp · 8/10 · 25 May 2010]

This Hollywood movie might have worked better as a rough-hewn indie picture with more particularized locations and more unexpected faces, but it has two big things to recommend it: the writing, and a wonderful performance by Michael Douglas as the titular loner, a fallen used car magnate, a seducer of young women and a man near sixty who's run out of options. Douglas wears this charming sleazebag's skin with breathtaking ease. The settings don't really matter too much (they're pretty generic), and the excellent cast, which includes Susan Sarandon, Sarah Louise Parker, Danny De Vito, and Jesse Eisenberg, is a little too familiar. But none of that matters because Douglas is so good. The noirish aspects of the story creep up on you very gradually, and you go from not caring about the protagonist to caring just when you know you should have long given up on him. This is the writing and Douglas's performance working together to create a man who is reprehensible in interesting and perhaps universal ways.

Ben Kalmen is a wise guy who needs to learn a lesson. You would think he had already learned a big one. He was a car dealer in the Tri-State area so successful he was once on the cover of Forbes Magazine. Then he ran a scam against the car companies, taking profits from cars he hadn't sold. He was arrested, he squandered a fortune defending himself, he paid a huge fine and all but went to jail. He is disgraced. All of his powerful friends have abandoned him. He is also broke and divorced. Six years ago as we see in a preview sequence, his doctor found heart irregularities that might be dangerous and wanted to have tests run. Ben ran from that instead -- to bars where he began picking up and bedding young women in an effort to cheat time and mother nature. This is a game that has worn thin, but he isn't prepared to give it up.

When the action begins he's pushed by his very wealthy girlfriend Jordan (Parker) to take her daughter Allyson (Imogen Poots) up to his alma mater for an admissions interview. He has given a lot of money to the school in the past and still has influence with the dean. He doesn't want to go, but he goes. Allyson doesn't want him to come, but he comes. There's mention of her having had a drinking problem. She puts on a great pose of sophistication and independence. And then over the weekend he gets her drunk and seduces her. He also makes friends with a sophomore, Daniel Cheston, whom he calls Cheston (Eisenberg). With both young people Ben indulges a penchant for playing the worldly-wise sex adviser. He tells Allyson how to get her young men to satisfy her sexually (that's how he begins his seduction) and he tells Cheston how to get a girl. Later he betrays Cheston's trust.

Once Ben sleeps with Alllyson on that trip, bad things happen, very bad things. His attempt to overcome doubts in high places and start a new car dealership is gradually shot down. He can't even get a job as a car salesman. He is behind in his rent; he borrows money from his serious daughter Susan (Jenna Fischer). He runs out of money and goes to his old college friend Jimmy (De Vito) for help. The wrath of his girlfriend Jordan turns out to be very dangerous.

Douglas' role as Ben Kalman touches on aspects of his Gordon Gecko of Wall Street and Grady Tripp of Wonder Boys, which is to say he is well cast, not that this is a repetition of those roles or performances. Ben is as lacking in a sense of human values as Gecko, and his life is in as much disarray as Tripp's. Some find Ben much more shocking than either. So much the better. Douglas takes on this role fearlessly and it leads him along familiar trajectories into a new place. Ben is a human being. He is a man more adept at the material than the moral who's dealing with his fears the best way he can. He is short on wisdom but not on bravery. His grandson adores him. Like the dad in the indie surprise flick Daddy Longlegs, he is the dangerous, unreliable adult who is magical and fun. He is the man young adults may need along the way for inspiration and then must discard when they realize some essential parts of the picture, the consistent set of values, was lacking.

Douglas' thrusting intonations here become the embodiment of the (once) successful car salesman. Ben is selling a materialist and sensualist's program for defying time. Perhaps not enough time goes in the film to establishing Ben's former good side. It's a little hard to understand how his ex-wife Nancy (Sarandon) can remain so understanding, not to mention his daughter Susan's rallying when she has once given up on him. De Vito's still-loyal old friend is an idealized and simplistic figure. And yes, it would be better if Douglas, too, were not so familiar to us. But the movie still succeeds in concocting a man and a situation that have much that are fresh about them. Ben is a wonderfully complex creation, charismatic and charming and sexy and yet very clearly also a jerk. And in playing him, Michael Douglas shows himself once again to be a very good and very brave actor, for more so than people tend to realize. Koppelman and Leviean have written for Steven Soderbergh, who co-produced; Leviean was the writer here, and his collaborating on the directing seems to have worked well for the coherence of this well-made film.

the last five minutes is good

[MunkyMovie · 6/10 · 13 November 2018]

The viewer must sit (or fast forward) through some pretty annoying material to get to the good part of this movie. If the ending had been the end of act one, so to speak, it could have been a great movie.

pointless

[rupie · 2/10 · 12 February 2011]

What is the point of this movie? We basically watch the slow disintegration of a truly reprehensible and despicable character. Ben Kalmen has no redeeming features whatever, and his decline never seems to have a larger point to it. And the script that tells this tale is leaden and sluggish. It is also a problem that Douglas' performance seems to lack the nasty edge that this vile character requires; there is too much of the "nice guy" we have come to know from Douglas' other roles. He should have brought to the part some of the nastiness he showed as Steven Taylor in "A Perfect Murder." Also, the miserable way he treats his daughter and her family needs to elicit more rage from that character; Jenna Fischer's performance is flat and lacking the required anger. A music score might have helped, but it's in absentia. And the ending is simply completely unbelievable.

familiar

[Kirpianuscus · 14 August 2018]

It reminds me the classic Russian literature. A character with deep traits of looser.And the world around him. A splendid performance from Michael Douglas. And the right atmosphere. A film who you know. In each detail. Maybe, except the end. Short - bitter, honest, cruel, ironic.

I Sure Hope I Look Like Michael Douglas when I'm in my 60's!

[asc85 · 7/10 · 20 June 2010]

I'm honestly surprised that this film will not get wider distribution, nor more marketing and advertising muscle behind it. This isn't saying much in June, but it's the most substantive, well-done film I've seen so far in 2010. I'm not a big Michael Douglas fan, but he's fantastic, in a role with lots of Gordon Gekko in it. The supporting cast is all pretty outstanding, and I was wondering what the young Imogen Poots from "28 Weeks Later" would look like when she was more grown up, and let's just say that it wasn't disappointing to see how she has turned out thus far. Although I gave this a "7" rating, it's really a 7.5 in my book. Although they made a big deal about Douglas's motivation for falling apart, I thought that was far less interesting than watching how this "smooth operator" screwed up his life again and again, with little remorse, and lots of bullheaded-ness

Flawed but still captivating

[name99-92-545389 · 7/10 · 17 May 2013]

Let me say right away that I am not generally a fan of dramas, of the story of someone destroying their life, or recovering it. However I found something about this movie mesmerizing.

My guess is that it was the lack of sentimentality I found so appealing. The main character was not a cartoonishly evil villain, but neither did was he villain with a heart of gold. I don't want to say that he was realistic in that he represented the behavior of a large number of men; rather he came across as a very real example of a particular class of men. And likewise for all the other characters --- all portrayed with sympathy, and as real human beings, not archetypes.

My one complaint was with the ending. It's not that I dislike the ambiguity: does our hero choose love or sex? It's that, after the richness of everything that has gone before, the understanding of the complex motives that drive people to do foolish things, even as they know they are foolish (and, also, sometimes, to do beautiful things), the choice that is presented is so simple-minded. The implication is that, sure, this guy can, after six years of being a dick, just decide that this phase of his life is over, it's time to go back to being a decent guy, and everyone else around him will just accept the change. It's a jarring piece of garbage sentimentality which ruins the rest of the movie.

How could the ending have been handled better? I think at the very least, the musings at the end about why he did what he did could have been augmented with some acknowledgment of the larger picture, something like thoughts on the difference between what we like and what we want, or how hard it is to not simply reach out for what you want, even after plenty of experience has taught you it's not what makes you happy. I'm trying to avoid saying something trite, which implies our hero has learned a deep and valuable lesson from his experiences, while also trying to suggest that he's not a complete fool, that he can look back on his life and connect the dots.

But the ending is (of course) only one part of a movie; and I have very little to complain about the rest.

Misandristic Fantasy

[sb-901-395404 · 7/10 · 19 November 2010]

Contrary to what you might think, this film is not about a down-on-his-luck car salesmen but rather, it is a story about four women and their contemptible treatment of a man, in their attempt to elicit from him, a behaviour that is acceptable in their eyes.

At various stages of the narrative, these central women relentlessly attempt to manipulate the so called protagonist; Ben is rewarded, used, punished, vilified and then given one final call in to heel. The central question driving the story is not what precipitated his apparent intolerable behaviour (the film's red herring) but rather, it is whether or not Ben will submit to the feminist "reprogramming' or remain unrepentant to the last.

Tragically, it makes no difference whether Ben does what the women want him to do or not, he still gets punished regardless; for one women he does exactly what she wants him to do, and is impeccably punished for it. However, he receives no points for attempting to avoid the situation that cements his demise, being forced into it against his better judgement and will, by the very women who unleashes upon him his own private Armageddon; Ben is punished and blamed by the one that forced him into the situation, with no admittance of her own guilt at creating the underlying animosity between herself and her offspring, the real cause of the problem in the first place. This is a typical example of how Ben is repeatedly blamed for the women's own short-comings. Similarly, Ben is a horrible man simply because, like most men, he does not find wrinkly old women as sexually attractive as young young ones (note, however, he did admit older women could still nevertheless, 'get him off'). Again, while not explicitly treated in the film, one could assume anecdotally that while many old women, in seeking to boost their self-esteem, wish to be sexually ravished and desired by their partners, it is wholly unacceptable for men to bed young attractive women for exactly the same self-obsessed reason. Yet throughout Ben is a survivor of indomitable spirit, the utterly authentic existentialist.

Ben's punishment far outweighs his crimes - for brief moments of self gratification (without it seems any thought of malice to others) he is attacked at the two most fundamentally important dimensions of the male life; the ability to succeed vocationally/financially and the ability to nurture and sustain intimate family relationships, most importantly, with his offspring. The four aggressive women punish him with isolation, attempting to destroy him emotionally and materially, all of which, they feel completely justified in doing and commiserate with his crimes.

Clearly, this film serves to mirror the typical behaviour of women in family breakdown today, where the majority of women succeed in taking and breaking that which is most important to a man - I can only assume some of the makers of this film are victims, or know victims, of divorce (and if you're a woman that has not done this to a man, don't kid yourself into thinking that you would never do such a thing – the statistics clearly show, in family breakup, women overwhelming (85%+) get custody, house and money while blocking access to kids – so you either haven't yet had the opportunity to do it, or you are one of the wonderful minority who have not – I salute you!).

Similarly, for one act of indiscretion (let's say a one night stand that leads to pregnancy), men today are forced to pay money for the next 20 years for a child they don't even get to see, being actively marginalised as a father (while the women try to ease their conscience by telling themselves that they want their fathers to be more involved in their child's life, while simultaneously denying them custody or access, often as punishment for perceived transgressions). This leaves these men little hope of ever being able to find a suitable partner due to their lack of money and emotional ruin at being unfairly separated from their child (let alone how much the child suffers). A punished non-commiserate to their 'crimes'.

But of course, on another dimension, a class dimension, this is all fantasy since as female lovers (and probably male) to men of power know, rich and powerful men do not get punished as Ben does (e.g. Hugh Grant, Bill Clinton) but merrily continue their lives, to the envy of the beaten down non-alpha male herd, and consternation of the female kind.

Top movie – good-on-ya Ben! Men, don't give up - you can survive! Ladies, learn to accept men (admittedly, not always pleasant) for what they are, not what you want them to be. And try not to punish them too severely for their, and your, imperfections.

Effortless And Charming With A Bit Of Bite

[LeonLouisRicci · 7/10 · 7 January 2014]

You might get through Life pretty much Unscathed if You Indulge in One of the Seven Deadly Sins (Lust), but Two (Greed), probably Unsurmountable. Such is the Case with Michael Douglas in this Character Study about a Very Successful Businessman in the Winter of Discontent.

He is on His way Down and Out, but the Silky Charm is still there and a Complete Embrace of Self Confidence. In the Film, He never "looks" like He is Suffering much. However, His Life is in total Freefall.

It is a One-Note Movie but its Resonance is Profound and the Cast of Aging Stars and some Quality Newcomers aid a rather Thin Script and Story. It is a Quality Film, with Professionalism and a certain Wit without Cynicism. It is not Layered and is right there on Screen for the Viewer to take in and it is a Smooth Operation to say the Least.

The Movie Glides along its way Effortlessly and is Charm with a bit of Bite. In Fact, it is so good You may want more of it. But that is not to be. Its like the best cut of Steak possible, but only Served in 4 ounce Proportions.

The enjoyment of this will depend on the amount of Self-Reflection You engage, and will undoubtedly appeal to an Older Audience and the Movie and its Cautionary Tale will most probably be Overlooked by those who would benefit the Most. Those Folks, especially Men, who are still Young Enough.

Good Acting, Hard to LIke

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 13 September 2010]

I was sorry to hear about Michael Douglas's recent bout with cancer. The character he portrays here has similar issues. In this film, Douglas portrays a man who has ruined his life through short-sightedness and greed and womanizing. He is smug and full of advice. He even sleeps with a college freshman, the daughter of his girlfriend. He has no morals and no restraint. As a moviegoer, should I judge the film based on his despicable character. A man who never changes. What he does is ingratiate himself time after time, seeking only selfish ends. He is broke and needs money and leeches off his daughter. His ex-wife helps him not starve but realizes that there is no future with this guy. He is just one of the most self-centered characters every portrayed. He betrays everyone and still keeps up the excuses, schmoozmaster supreme. Douglas does a superb job portraying this man, but I never felt acceptance or compassion for him.

The Mike Douglas Show (no, not that one)

[Quinoa1984 · 7/10 · 12 December 2010]

Directors David Levien and Barry Kopelman (from Kopelman's script) give the best possible thing they could for Michael Douglas: to play someone who makes a living at playing. In a sense this is a return to a character like Gordon Gecko, who is a bigger than life guy, only this time he's knocked down by a bunch of pegs. He's done some criminal things as "The Only Honest Car Dealer" around, and he's let down his daughter and grandson in more ways than one (mostly by, as usually the case with family, not being there), and he's a hopeless womanizer, who uses his skills as a car salesman to hone in on what makes woman, uh, want him I guess. And this gets him in more hot water, especially when he seduces family friends and even the 18 year old daughter of his current girlfriend. His daughter thinks he has a psychological disorder and needs help. In reality, I think he's just an aging Casanova, way in over his head after years of skating on success.

Douglas plays this guy, Ben Kalmen, a man who has his name on top of a library at a university up in Boston as he donated all that money, like a man who knows everything and nothing at the same time. He's a consummate people person, can charm the pants off anyone, seduce most women, but is clueless in seeing the errors in his ways over time. Douglas would come back to play this, perhaps now in retrospect redundantly, this very year with Wall Street 2, only in that case given a boost up by actually serving jail time. Ben hasn't been to jail, per- say. He's been in his own solitary-made prison (hence the title). Does he like that? It is what it is, he says at one point.

I love watching Douglas be able to make a character look interesting even when (perhaps, admittedly) it looks as if he's just playing 'himself', or how we might picture Michael Douglas to be in, well, if not real life kind of like his 'movie-life' if that makes sense (kind of like how George Clooney puts on a persona that seems like "him"). He actually elevates a script that is good but not very ambitious with where it wants to take its characters. It's very straightforward about where it's going, which is the comeuppance of a man who has done too much in his life to screw over women, screw over family, screw over competition. By the end it's even questionable whether he'll even have a home exactly.

But in a way I, as I'm sure we all, enjoy watching Douglas being a kind of cool-hand jerk, oily and suave and such a playboy that he can charm even in a t-shirt lent by mentee Jesse Eisenberg. Unfortunately the humbling period isn't quite as cathartic as that in another Douglas vehicle, also compared by other critics, of Wonder Boys. That had a lot more going on with its supporting characters, while here those around him are soundboards, telling him what's going on with him, where he's gone wrong, or in a few exceptions (Eisenberg, De Vito) on his side but cautious as friends and allies. It's a good character study though not a very good drama, if that might make sense. I suppose ultimately this and Wall Street 2 would make the better combination; neither film reaches greatness, but they'll do as Golden-Age prime-rib roles for its star, who is magnetic, humorous, touching, engaging, and, thankfully, sympathetic to a degree. And there's a lot of fun to be had too, thank goodness.

Long, pointless & rambling

[stephparsons · 5/10 · 12 May 2013]

Long, pointless, rambling movie starring a wizened and disturbingly wrinkled Michael Douglas, as a relentless philanderer who decides to pursue and bed countless young women after his doctor tells him there may be something wrong with his heart.  The hours slowly stumble by as we are subjected to unsavoury images of Douglas 'seducing' countless women, in a bid to show off his 'technique' garnered from years of sexual experience.  As expected, his life ends up in tatters when he can't find work, can't pay the rent, is forbidden contact with his grandson, and is turned down by a woman.  Not really sure what one's meant to make of the anticlimactic, obvious, and rather lazy ending other than that maybe he finally realizes the shallowness of his ways.  Frankly I didn't care what happened to him in the end and felt it would have been more exciting if his heart had exploded in glorious Technicolour.

Solitary Man shows Michael Douglas at his very (aging) best

[cliffgold-1 · 9/10 · 8 July 2010]

At 65 years old, Michael Douglas can still command the movie screen. In recent years, his choice of parts has looked somewhat desperate to me. Solitary Man got little publicity and is playing largely art houses around the country. And it is quite a film. It is very much Douglas at his aging best. His character is true to the Neil Diamond song by the same name, a version of which is sung (badly) over the opening credits.

Featuring an all-star ensemble cast, Solitary Man centers on Ben Kalmen (Douglas), a formerly rich, highly-successful "honest" New York car dealer who pulled off a Bernie Madoff-level scam, got caught, prosecuted, and lost all of his money and most of his respect in the ensuing years-long legal battle. He did avoid jail, however. The movie opens before the scandal and 6 ½ years before the current day, with the always-cocky Ben (think Tom Sanders in Disclosure) going in for his annual physical. His long-time doctor "doesn't like his EKG" and orders major diagnostic tests for him. Flash forward to now.

Ben is divorced from his wife, Nancy (Susan Sarandon in a luscious cameo); living with a rich younger woman, Jordan (Mary-Louise Parker) and her daughter, Allyson, (the very talented Imogen Poots); trying to get a new car dealership approved by the local city council; and chasing women successfully all over the Boroughs. This 60+-year-old has all the moves, and they still work on younger women. He hops from bed to bed while milking his live-in and trying to re-capture the success he exudes from every pore but without the money or the friends he once had. Ben is living a nightmare. He is trying to bury the images with meaningless sex and a carefree, live-for-the-moment attitude that is vaguely reminiscent of his roles in films like Wall Street, A Perfect Murder and Wonder Boys.

When Jordan gets ill, she commands Ben to take Allyson to her college interview at Ben's alma mater, where he has been a major donor with his name on the library and everything. Here, the film hits its stride. Ben doesn't want to be there but the memories flood back, including those of his first meeting with Nancy. He leaves Allyson to do what she wants while he befriends a young college student (played by Adventureland's Jesse Eisenberg), becoming a mentor in the process. He also gets reacquainted with his college buddy, Jimmy Merino (Danny DeVito with whom Douglas has done countless films and with whom he roomed as a young thespian), an underachieving good guy who never left the college town and who owns a small café near campus. The very best moments involve Ben and Allyson; don't miss them.

Let's just say the story evolves from here with Ben's life spiraling downhill, all of his own doing. Nothing has been the same since the day his doctor told him he might have a serious heart problem. Everything came up smelling like roses until then and it's been all smelly fertilizer since. Even his only good relationship - with his married daughter, Susan, who loves her dad, listens to his problems and helps where she can – begins to decay. Played by The Office's Jenna Fischer in a performance that was a revelation, Susan doesn't hold any grudge about the divorce or dad's highly publicized fall. But he even does her wrong.

There are several questions the audience wants answered. Can Ben be redeemed? When he hits rock bottom, will anyone be there? Will his heart give way before that? Will he commit suicide, die of natural causes, or be saved? Co-writers Brian Koppelman and David Levien direct their first major movie after having penned films like Rounders, Runaway Jury, and Ocean's Thirteen (all favorites of mine), and they do so with aplomb. This is an exceptional, if depressing, independent film that shows that Douglas can still act, entice, entertain, and engage.

Douglas masterful performance

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 15 September 2016]

Ben Kalmen (Michael Douglas) is divorced from Nancy (Susan Sarandon). He is loved by daughter Susan (Jenna Fischer) despite his womanizing and the mess from his corrupt car dealership empire. He had come close to prison for fraud. He is trying to rehabilitate his reputation and buy a dealership with the help of his connected girlfriend Jordon Karsch (Mary-Louise Parker). He takes her daughter Allyson (Imogen Poots) for a college interview at his alta-mater and ends up sleeping with her. He befriends awkward college student Daniel Cheston (Jesse Eisenberg) and reconnects with Jimmy Merino (Danny DeVito) who owns the family deli.

The central performance is great. Ben is not sympathetic but Douglas infuses him with humanity. He's a terribly flawed and damaged character. The drawback is the constant turnover of character which doubles back. It would have been more effective staying with the mentorship with Eisenberg or the perverted relationship with the mother and daughter. Doubling back does feel awkwardly manufactured. There is a possibility that he's going back for Allyson but that's not the case. It's just weird although reconnecting with Daniel does give fruit to a good turn.

Be a Jerk and Die Lonely

[evanston_dad · 4/10 · 23 November 2010]

One man's mid-life crisis makes for another man's really boring movie.

The particular mid-life crisis in question belongs to Ben, played by Michael Douglas in a pretty decent performance undermined by a pretty lame movie. In "Solitary Man," we see Ben be a jerk in just about every conceivable way, preying on girls 40 years younger than him, giving impressionable college guys lousy advice about women, neglecting his grandson, telling his daughter graphic stories of his sexual exploits and having cozy chats with his ex-wife (Susan Sarandon), who seems grudgingly tolerant of him and his bad-boy nature. This goes on for 90 minutes until a last-minute soliloquy that lands with an expositional thud informs us that this behavior and its aftermath, though the movie has made it seem like the work of a lifetime, has only been going on for six and a half(!) years, since Ben was diagnosed with a heart irregularity that he has taken great pains to neglect. Suddenly, a film that up to then has been going nowhere no longer even makes a lot of sense, and any last shred of interest I had in the film vanished like a puff of smoke.

The moral of this story is: treat everyone in your life like crap and die lonely. Wow, what a revelation that is.

Grade: C-