Solitary Man

Directed by David Levien and Brian Koppelman

(R)

***

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“For a story about a guy who keeps disappointing the people he loves,” Solitary Man is surprisingly full of pleasures, said Justin Chang in Variety. Brian Koppelman, who co-directed with David Levien, has written a script “whose every acerbic line is firmly rooted in character.” But the main reason to watch is for Michael Douglas’ performance—one of his best in years—as a “bull-spouting, skirt-chasing ex-businessman having a late-in-life family/career meltdown.” Koppelman has created a “sharp, small-scale comedy of male misbehavior,” said A.O. Scott in The New York Times. What’s most impressive about his script is its handling of the protagonist’s relationships with those closest to him. His ex-wife (Susan Sarandon) still regards him with tenderness, while his daughter (Jenna Fischer) is considerably colder. Douglas carefully draws out the paradoxes of his character, said Michael Phillips in the Los Angeles Times. Indeed, in his late career, the actor has become a bit of a paradox himself—“a movie star who has turned into a wily character man.”