The Charge
Ben Loves His Family Almost as Much as He Loves Himself
Opening Statement
Solitary Man is the story of Ben Kalman, a character that Michael Douglas plays almost by second nature. Douglas shines in the role and his performance makes the film worth seeing, even if it is stronger than the film itself.
Facts of the Case
After bad word from the doctor six years ago, Ben Kalman has since refused to come to terms with his age and place in life. Illegal business practices with his car dealership almost cost him jail time and he spends his remaining days making one poor decision after another. He chases after girls a fraction his age and is nothing but a strain on the genuine relationships he does have. Ben lives for himself, but now he must take his girlfriend’s daughter to a college interview, where his tainted reputation and selfish lifestyle get the better of him.
The Evidence
Michael Douglas hasn’t starred in a blockbuster for some time, so to the American public, he has somewhat fallen off the radar as a mainstream actor. With Solitary Man, not only do we find Douglas in a leading role once again, but we find him in a role tailor made for him, as he excels at playing egotistical pricks. While Gordo Gecko may have had a level of charisma that had us almost believing in such a corrupt individual, Ben Kalman is a cheater and a liar, leaving little to admire. The worst part is that he knows it. Ben prides himself as a “man who takes risks,” but often the risks are either illegal or lack any discretion whatsoever.
The film’s credits appropriately open with Johnny Cash’s Solitary Man as we find Ben Kalman wearing all black and walking around the streets of New York. This is more fitting than we even realize, because the more we learn about Ben, the more we can see that he is lonely, desparate, and completely unhappy with his own life. Aptly set in New York City, we find a man who is so self centered that the rest of the world is merely a blur. Ben was once highly successful and graced the cover of Forbes magazine before his shady dealings cost him virtually everything he had. Although he has paid his debt to society, his unscrupulous nature and detached personality is ever so present. This is a bitter disappointment to his grandson, but moreso to his daughter Susan (Jenna Fischer), who must repeatedly write his rent checks since Ben can’t get back on his own feet.
We spend a little time getting to know Ben, and learn that he hates it when his daughter calls him “dad” and especially loathes being called “grandpa”. Ben won’t accept that he is sixty years old and when the film takes us to the meat of the story, where he takes his girlfriend’s daughter Allyson (Imogen Poots) to a college interview, we already know that the college setting will be ripe with temptation. Since Ben himself is completely immature, he has no problem fitting in around campus and he quickly befriends a student named Daniel (Jesse Eisenberg), who reminds Ben of his younger self when he attended the same school. Ben tirelessly spouts advice to Daniel, who looks up to Ben, but the advice ultimately comes from a source with a crumbling foundation.
Douglas is utterly convincing as a man who struggles with great regret, but with too much pride to admit it. During one scene on campus, Ben stops briefly to sit on a park bench, a bench that clearly has many memories attached. Ben gets up and shrugs off the overwhelming feelings attached to that location as if he can’t face where he is at in life today. Only later in the film does Ben swallow his pride enough to ask for help from his old friend Jimmy (Danny DeVito), owner of a local food joint near the school. Jimmy is one of the many voices of reason in Ben’s life, but Ben can’t see past the lack of financial success in Jimmy’s life.
Solitary Man is a well constructed and well acted film, but isn’t as satisfying as I would have liked. There is nothing particularly engaging about the story and as great as Douglas’ performance was, the movie feels like a slow burning fuse on a stick of dynamite, without the bang. Not to any fault of Douglas, the main character lacked the arc needed to make the story worth telling. The character of Ben isn’t extremely likable, so as an audience member, it would have helped to have seen some sort of character progression (or regression). With Wall Street, which was far superior, the film climaxed with Gordon Gecko’s empire falling before his eyes. With Solitary Man, the Ben we see at the beginning of the film isn’t far from who we see at the end, and unfortunately he has hurt many others along the way.
Closing Statement
Solitary Man is a worthwhile watch simply for Michael Douglas’ performance, which is better than the film itself. I enjoyed watching Douglas act like a self-centered jerk, but only up to the point at which I realized the film wasn’t going to progress.
The Verdict
6/10
0 comments ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.
Leave a Comment