Solitary Man (2009)

A car magnate watches his personal and professional life hit the skids because of his business and romantic indiscretions.

Directors:

Brian Koppelman, David Levien

Writer:

Brian Koppelman

Stars:

Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon, Jesse Eisenberg

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Douglas	...	Ben Kalmen
Susan Sarandon	...	Nancy Kalmen
Danny DeVito	...	Jimmy Marino
Mary-Louise Parker	...	Jordon Karsch
Jenna Fischer	...	Susan Porter
Imogen Poots	...	Allyson Karsch
Jesse Eisenberg	...	Daniel Cheston
Richard Schiff	...	Steve Heller
Jake Siciliano	...	Scotty
David Costabile	...	Gary Porter
Ben Shenkman	...	Peter Hartofilias
Anastasia Griffith	...	Carol Salomonde
Alex Kaluzhsky	...	Ted Loof
Simona Williams	...	Nurse (as Simona Levin Williams)
James Colby	...	Sgt. John Haverford

Storyline

Ben Kalman is aging: he has heart problems, his marriage is over, he's lost a fortune after being caught cutting corners in his East Coast car business, and he's sleeping with as many women as possible - the younger the better. He's chosen his current girlfriend, Jordan, because her father can help him get a new auto dealership; she's asked him to escort her daughter, Allyson, 18, on a visit to a Boston college campus. He behaves badly, and there are consequences to his love life, his finances, and his relationship with his daughter and grandson. Is there anywhere he can turn?

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Plot Keywords:

marriage | sex on the floor | womanizer | fellatio | aspirin | 

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Taglines:

Ben loves his family almost as much as he loves himself

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some sexual content

Did You Know?

Trivia

Michael Douglas and Danny DeVito appear together for the first time in over 20 years since The War of the Roses (1989).

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Quotes

Ben Kalmen: You got your little jokes, you know, the Spanish thing, interests are the same, and the studying. But, um, are you getting it, you know, where it counts?
Maureen: Oh, Ben. Cheston thinks you care about him.
Ben Kalmen: This has nothing to do with him. He's never gonna know about this. Never.
Maureen: Aren't you a little old for all this?
Ben Kalmen: You're still standing here, aren't you?
Maureen: Yeah, 'cause I'm contemplating throwing this drink in your face. But I'm not going to, because I don't want Cheston to know what you just tried. So you ...
[...]

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Connections

Featured in Late Show with David Letterman: Michael Keaton/Jenna Fischer (2010)

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Soundtracks

Walls Within
Written by Peter Koellerer and Thomas Viehboeck
Performed by Sonic Adventure Project
Published by Music Expressions (ASCAP)
Courtesy of Crucial Music Corporation

User Reviews

The more things change...

Solitary Man tells the story of Ben Kalmen (Michael Douglas in a good performance), a formerly successful car dealer now on a downward spiral. Now close to 60 years old, Ben seems to be living a sort of late identity crisis, chasing younger women and trying desperately to start a new business while his personal life goes down the drain as quickly as his financial situation.

The direction and writing, by Brian Koppelman and David Levien, takes a bittersweet approach to this story, chronicling the events while elegantly letting us decide what we think of Ben. In this respect, I felt they were honest and not manipulative. Unfortunately, this will also make it hard for some people to relate to the subject, unless they have contemplated those situations themselves.

The story is quite simple at its heart and tackles issues that are becoming more and more prevalent in our society. That is, we are constantly told we deserve it all, we deserve it now and we deserve it forever. Ben (implicitly and explicitly) would like to be the person he used to be, has a hard time redefining facets of his life.

Viewers will have different takes on Ben, ranging from admirable to pathetic but he is never demonized nor sainted in the movie. Unfortunately, while the themes are strongly driven throughout the film, the story itself looks more like a series of anecdotes, some of which are not stringed in the most elegant way.

The whole cast around Douglas (quite an ensemble) is excellent, except Susan Sarandon who is surprisingly bland and not up to her usually high standards. I felt her characters had few scenes but they were key to invest the audience and something was lacking there.

The film's ending is great and more food for thoughts but overall, Solitary Man falls short of being a classic due to a few writing issues.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

25 June 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

El hombre solitario

Filming Locations:

City Island, Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$94,936, 23 May 2010

Gross USA:

$4,360,548

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,682,554

Company Credits

Production Co:

Millennium Films, Paul Schiff Productions, Smartest Man Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39:1