Joe Wright

Joe Wright

Joe Wright became the golden boy of Working Title in such a short period of time with the likes of Pride and Prejudice and Atonement under his belt, gone are the days when all British movies contained are Hugh Grant and Richard Curtis.

But this week he takes on the American movie as he returns to the big screen with The Soloist, which sees Oscar winner Jamie Foxx team up with Oscar nominee Robert Downey Jr.

Journalist Steve Lopez (Downey Jr.) discovers Nathaniel Anthony Ayers (Foxx), a former classical music prodigy, playing his violin on the streets of L.A.

As Lopez endeavours to help the homeless man find his way back, a unique friendship is formed, one that transforms both their lives.

Despite the string of set backs that this movie has been plagued with it's still surrounded in Oscar whispers for the two central performances from Foxx and Downey Jr but also Wright's work behind the camera.

The Soloist is only the Brit director's third movie but he has already produced some very accomplished work.

He exploded onto the scene in 2005 when he adapted Jane Austen's much loved novel Pride and Prejudice, with Keira Knightley in the lead role of Elizabeth Bennet.

The movie was a critical hit and went on to receive four Oscar nominations and Wright picked up the Most Promising Newcomer at the Bafta Awards.

But it was his 2007 picture Atonement, an adaptation of Ian McEwan's much loved novel, that really established him as a great filmmaker to keep an eye on.

It's difficult to believe that this is only Wright's second feature length film as his choice of shot, use of costume, attention to the period, and the performance he commands from his cast suggests that he is a veteran movie-maker.

The movie was part love story, part war epic as Wright produced a complex and devastating story which combines the literary qualities of the novel with the highly polished acting and production values, as well as staying incredibly faithful to the source material.

As well as the acting the cinematography is outstanding in particular the harrowing scenes at Dunkirk. Wright's long tracking shot packing a great punch of pain and suffering on the beaches, more so than Spielberg's attempt in Saving Private Ryan.

It was one of the best movies of the year and more awards success came his way as the film picked up Best Film, Drama at the Golden Globes and was nominated for Best Picture at the Oscar, however Wright was overlooked in the directing category.

And with The Soloist this run of fine work looks set to continue as he managed to entice two of Hollywood's biggest names to the project as he moves into American movies for the very first time.

However Wright will return to Working Title with his next movie Indian Summer, which is based on the book Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire by Alex von Tunzelmann.

The movie will follow Lord Mountbatten of Burma and his wife Edwina Mountbatten who are travelling to India to oversee the hand over of power to the first Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, in the final moments of the British Empire.

Joe Wright is one of the most exciting British filmmaker currently and work and looks set to take Hollywood by storm. It won't be long before he bags an Oscar.

The Soloist is out now

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw


by for www.femalefirst.co.uk
find me on and follow me on


Tagged in