Movie Review: Soul

Even though Soul, the latest Pixar movie, was originally supposed to be in theaters much earlier this year and was moved to a Christmas home viewing only release on Disney+ due to the coronavirus pandemic, the film is well worth the wait and may ultimately rank among the best offerings from the studio when all is said and done.

The tale is one of Joe Gardner (voice of Jamie Foxx) who is a frustrated school music teacher who aspires to be a great jazz pianist. Unfortunately, things constantly seem to be against him as he tries to get that stage of his career off the ground. Such as when he gets his big break playing alongside famous jazz saxophonist Dorothea (voice of Angela Bassett). Alas, things go from great to worse when Joe subsequently falls through an open manhole in the street as passes away. This does not give too much of the film away as this is essentially the set up as Joe’s passage to the Great Beyond, which he skirts to instead take the road less travelled – the Great Before – and get reborn. There, he meets troubled Soul 22 (voice of Tina Fey) whom he decides to mentor as a means to get a ticket back to Earth to reclaim his life and make the gig with Dorothea that he so desperately thinks is to be the pinnacle of his life. Of course, being a Pixar film, there is obviously a lesson to be learned here.

Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey in “Soul.”

While the conceit of Soul may sound a bit dour for a Pixar film, the high-concept of the film is surprisingly low-key throughout in that it never feels too overwhelming or like something that might be out of bounds for younger viewers. There is also no shortage of the wonderous images to illustrate the version of the afterlife that co-writers/co-directors Pete Docter and Kemp Powers (along with some additional screenplay help from Mike Jones) are striving to communicate throughout. The story moves along at a brisk pace that makes the 100-minute running time swing by more sweetly than any of the licks Joe lays down with his piano.

The play between Foxx and Fey is every bit as wonderful as that between Billy Crystal and John Goodman in Monsters Inc. (2001). The two performers are perfectly suited to their roles here and pull them off effortlessly. There is also a euphoric atmosphere to the music throughout the film that serves as a release of sorts, not only for the characters playing it, but for the audience which may be feeling as equally kept and sequestered in their own lives these days as well.

It is easy to say that Pixar has done it again with Soul. But it would also be unfair to label it as simply another Pixar triumph. There is far more at work here than in past films and this one seems to hold a lot more resonance that previous Pixar endeavors. Is this simply a product of the times and the situations each of us may find ourselves in today? Perhaps, but isn’t that the purpose of great art, to reflect and comment on the times in which it exists?

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Mike Tyrkus

Editor in Chief at CinemaNerdz.com

An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.

@miketyrkus

Mike Tyrkus

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