The opening scene, when Robert Downey Jr. hurls from his bike onto the unyielding asphalt in an accident giving rise to stitches and a swollen-shut eye, is a clue: The Soloist will be harder-edged than most Hollywood social problem pictures about helpers and victims. For one thing, as a helper, Downey is neither sap nor superman. He comes across as a savvy, skeptical journalist, a hipster in his Rat Pack hat genuinely drawn...

Based on a true story, the Soloist stars Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr., the movie will premiere in Milwaukee's Jazz Estate on Friday, April 17. The movie is about a Los Angeles Journalist (Robert Downey Jr.), who befriends a schizophrenic homless ...