Reviews

"Solitary Man" is Hollywood's idea of a deep heartfelt picture. A man deals with impending mortality by not dealing with it at all. Bravado and witticisms rule the day. There is clever everywhere, but no soul. This picture is "All That Jazz" without anything that made "All That Jazz" great and meaningful - primarily a soul, and a desire to explore the bigger questions that death brings up while still being entertaining. Michael Douglas plays Michael Douglas revealing nothing and essentially falling back on his well worn schtick, which given his recent dealings with his son is strange. The film doesn't show any of the inciting events that made the Douglas character who he is, except for one scene with a girlfriend's daughter, instead everything is talked about. Talk is cheap, action is Jackson. Skip it.

I saw this film on HBO and on Cinemax in the last month. It is tremendous. The story and script are so diabolically clever, sophisticated and ultimately moving. When you combine that with the wonderful performances, incredibly high end production values, and some truly imaginative and well executed direction - you have easily one of the best short films I've ever seen.