10 Great Music Film Biopics You Have To See

10. The Soloist

The Soloist (2009) is the kind of movie under-seen by audiences simply because it came out at the wrong time. Overshadowed at the box office by the likes of Fast and Furious and Taken, the film tells the story of Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx), a gifted bass player who found himself dropping out of Juilliard School following a severe mental breakdown. Suffering from schizophrenia, he finds himself living on the streets and befriends journalist Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr).

Portrayed in the movie as a cellist/violinist rather than a bassist, Ayers' story is one of strength and passion. A broken man who has no means to help himself, his relationship with Lopez grows quite strong over the course of the movie, despite Lopez's reluctance to have Ayers in his life. To Lopez, the musician is nothing but a story, but in time something clicks which makes both men realise how much they need each other.

All told, The Soloist is an emotionally heavy picture with a few obvious cliches, but all of the film's weaker moments are tossed aside by the passionate performances of Foxx and Downey Jr, who are both on top form and fill the screen with two staggering personalities and a beautiful friendship. Ayers' story is one that needs to be seen, if only for the performances and the film's highlighting of mental illness, and is the kind of music biopic that makes you want to make your own music.