Solitary Man
Solitary Man written by Brian Koppelman is a thoughtful film in which Ben Kalmen (Michael Douglas) - once the owner of a hugely profitable car dealership empire in New York City - is now verging on bankruptcy. He's trying to get back into business but because he was involved in a scam, no one is willing to let him get back into the game. Ben has another problem, he's 60 years old but he still wants to act like he's 20. He's a real ladies man. He's in a relationship with Jordan Karschof (Mary-Louise Parker) but he ends up having sex with her daughter, Allyson (Imogen Poots). Ben's daughter (Jenna Fischer) is also having trouble trusting Ben and soon the only people he can turn to are his ex-wife (Susan Sarandon), an old friend from college named Jimmy (Danny DeVito) and a young guy named Daniel (Jesse Eisenberg) that goes to college with Allyson.
Solitary Man tracks Ben's downward spiral. The inappropriate behaviour with Allyson, and pretty much every other woman he meets, his lack of effort with his family and friends. He's a mess. It's riveting viewing.
This film's top notch cast draws in the viewer. Sarandon and DeVito are as dependable as ever. They never turn in a bad performance, but it is also good to see younger talent such as Eisenberg and Poots performing strongly as well as excellent support from Fischer and Parker.
Solitary Man is well directed by the team of Brian Koppelman and David Levien. Two directors is not a common occurrence. You might expect that things would normally go wrong with a directing team. Directors are normally solitary themselves but here it works well, the cast even mention in the interviews that it was beneficial to have two directors.
This is one of Douglas' best films in some years, and one of his best performances, not to say that his others haven't been good. I loved him in several films such as Falling Down, The Game and The Wonder Boys. Douglas has always been a real filmstar. He portrays the character of Ben with believability and ease (no doubt some of this coming from personal experience with women). And as he has recently been diagnosed with throat cancer and reports say that his acting could soon come to an end it is certainly good to see him putting in some good performances of late.
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Comedy drama starring Michael Douglas as Ben Kalmen, who finds his life is falling apart. Ben used to have a successful business, a wife who loved him and a beautiful apartment, but he subsequently lost it all when he was unable to resist his urges. Although he is now divorced from his wife, Nancy (Susan Sarandon), he maintains a relationship with his daughter, Susan (Jenna Fischer), and her son. There is hope for Ben when it turns out his girlfriend, Jordan (Mary-Louise Parker), has contacts that could lead him back into the business world. But when Ben takes Jordan's daughter, Allyson (Imogen Poots), on a college tour, his ability not to give into temptation is tested.
Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play. Comedy drama starring Michael Douglas as Ben Kalmen, who finds his life is falling apart. Ben used to have a successful business, a wife who loved him and a beautiful apartment, but he subsequently lost it all when he was unable to resist his urges. Although he is now divorced from his wife, Nancy (Susan Sarandon), he maintains a relationship with his daughter, Susan (Jenna Fischer), and her son. There is hope for Ben when it turns out his girlfriend, Jordan (Mary-Louise Parker), has contacts that could lead him back into the business world. But when Ben takes Jordan's daughter, Allyson (Imogen Poots), on a college tour, his ability not to give into temptation is tested.
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