SEE.
Picture a moving tableau of Los Angeles with a semi-linear storyline about an L.A. Times writer (Robert Downey, Jr.) who stumbles across a homeless schizophrenic named Nathaniel Ayers (Jaime Foxx) who just happens to be a talented classical cellist. The day-to-day details about Los Angeles as observed by British director Joe Wright are interesting. At least they were to me. What people tend to see when they look at this city are the big, beautiful areas like Malibu and Beverly Hills. Or else the really scary areas like Malibu or Beverly Hills. Nobody looks at the simple beauty of a newspaper being delivered in Echo Park at 5 in the morning. The view of Dodger Stadium through the palm trees. The diverse mess that is the "new' downtown which is still plagued by unbelievable condition of the city's homeless population. Wright touches on all of these things as well as the complexity of trying to help a single individual who possesses a, perhaps, singular talent when thousands upon thousands of people still need help. And what do you when that one special person does not want the help he needs to function "normally" in society?
Who knows? I'm a person who likes answers. Sure. It should be a great story. Ayers, a former Julliard student whose mental illness robs him of what could have been a promising musical career, roams the streets of downtown L.A. dressed like a wizard from the black version of Harry Potter. However, there are no answers to schizophrenia. Is there a trigger in Nathaniel Ayers past that we can point to as the root cause of his illness? (Not really unless you count having a semi-comfortable basement room as a bedroom and watching a flaming tire rolling by a window because of a riot.) Nothing in Ayers' life is illuminated by the film and that leaves me feeling kind of empty and helpless, the way Steve Gomez probably felt when he realized that Nathaniel Ayers was never going to get better. At least not the way he wanted him to.
I also have to wonder, despite generally addressing the city's alleged commitment to helping the homeless (actually a Guiliani style roundup of the homeless haunts of downtown), is this a story about a helping someone whose "worthy" of saving because of his talent as opposed to helping the thousands of homeless people with nothing redeemable about their lives except that they are human beings? Don't look for an answer here. None to give.
EAT.
Watching these characters interact on the mean streets of downtown L.A. made me think...hmmmm...anyone outside of Los Angeles watching this movie will never...ever...come to downtown L.A. "There are crazy homeless people playing cellos with only one string. I'm never going there!" Well, too bad for you chickens 'cause there's a lot of good eatin' if you can pick your way around the homeless. What I loved most about this movie was the perspective on downtown L.A. (from the ground not by helicopter) and, nearby Echo Park. The Pershing Square of the movie is a little scarier than I remember, but, hey, all good things have a price. Come to downtown. Surf these sites for the ultimate dining experience in downtown L.A. -
http://www.losangeles.com/restaurants/ or http://los.angeles.diningguide/. Eat, drink and be wary.
SHOP.
The real Nathanial Ayers plays a lot of instruments despite what some might call a debilitating mental illness. Most of us who are "right in the head," however, cannot. With a lot of free time and practice, however, you, too, could play Beethoven. (Not really. But hope springs eternal.) To get you started on your musical journey, I suggest you read two books. Don't just go out and buy that electric guitar you been fantasizing about since your were sixteen. That would just be crazy. Read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. This book supports a theory that "greatness" whether musical, athletic, financial or intellectual begins from an individual's disciplined approach to practicing his or her craft. For years. Also, pick up Practicing: A Musician's Return to Music by Glenn Kurtz, a memoir about a musician's fall from and return to classical guitar buffeted by the discipline and commitment of merely practicing the instrument. Through practice, Kurtz's finds a new definition of musical success not predicated on the ego of supposed innate giftedness. Who knew being musical could be that simple? Certainly, not Nathaniel Ayers.
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