Jamie Foxx: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

3. Nathaniel Ayers €“ The Soloist

Every year we see these, and 2009 was no different. On paper, this looked phenomenal €“ a resurgent Robert Downey Jr. teaming up with Jamie Foxx in his first music-based role since Ray, showing the true story of a mentally troubled genius overcoming adversity? Sign us up! It's the sort of synopsis you could beat a path to the Academy with, and darn it all if the studios weren't totally, utterly aware of that fact. So we waited with baited breath €“ sure, it was award bait, but that doesn't mean it wasn't going to be good. But then we saw the thing, and it wasn't. It really, really wasn't. Much like The Amazing Spider-Man 2, there's only so much Foxx can do here without proper direction, and it's to Joe Wright's discredit that his efforts seem to smother both leads' attempts to give a good performance. As such, while obviously giving it his all, Foxx can't seem settle down and deliver something truly able to turn heads. Instead, his performance as Nathaniel Ayers is as symbolic of wasted potential as the character he's playing €“ he has it in him to be good (and there are occasional moments when he is), but he's just weighed down by issues beyond his control.