Solitary Man

Cast - Michael Douglas, Mary Louise Parker, Danny DeVito, Susan Sarandon

They say the true test of a person’s strength and character is his/her ability to bounce back from setbacks, whether self-inflicted or not. Solitary Man is the story of a man who fails miserably in that regard. Miserable, because he went down without a fight and in the process, damaged his reputation almost to the point of being irreparable.

What isn’t miserable, however, is Michael Douglas’s truly captivating portrayal of Ben Kalmen, a businessman who once had it all. Kalmen made his millions as an automobile magnate, until he led to his own undoing by getting involved in shady deals, which led to stints in the slammer. It cost him his marriage, and the sudden fall from grace meant he was about to face his biggest challenge yet – re-establishing all the trust he had frittered away.

But was the path to recovery achievable? Certainly, had he not succumbed to guilty pleasures. Kalmen was blessed with charm and the gift of the gab, but those virtues were also his biggest enemy. He had a roving eye, and his obsessive skirt-chasing – the central theme of the movie – tarnished his reputation even further.

At the start of the film, the 60-something Kalmen shows positive signs of reviving his business by taking the help of his girlfriend’s dad, an influential man in the auto industry. His girlfriend, Jordan (Mary Louise Parker), trusts him and he tries to return the favour by using his contacts to get her admission in a leading university. But Kalmen’s propensity to self-destruct shakes the foundation of that neatly woven network. He betrays Jordan’s trust by sleeping with the one woman he should never have laid his hands on.

On more than one occasion, Kalmen shows his weakness for women almost a third his age. He befriends a college student, Daniel, played by Jesse Eisenberg, who seemed like he was just dragged out of the sets of The Social Network to play another nerdy undergrad. Kalmen tries to teach him the art of picking up women, while Daniel listens with awe, oblivious of his ‘tutor’s’ shady past.

Throughout, Kalmen’s a man in denial. He fails to acknowledge his lack of focus, and does nothing to fix it. He fails to return the affection of his doting grandson, and that affects his relationship with his daughter, who’s quickly running out of patience with his lack of commitment to his family. Besides Daniel, his only other friend is Jimmy (Danny DeVito), who runs a diner. His ex-wife (Susan Sarandon), remains civil with him, but deliberately distances herself from his issues.

Solitary Man is not a sad story. It shows how things can go wrong if you fail to prioritise properly. It is a compelling character study of a 'flawed' charismatic man. He is in other words an 'endearing asshole'. You don’t know whether to feel sorry for Kalmen, or despise him. This is where Douglas scores, and the producers also need to be applauded for arranging a worthy ensemble.

Click here for the trailer.