Jamie Foxx as Joe Gardner, a passionate jazz pianist and music teacher whose soul gets separated from his body after an accident.
SOUL
Film Review by Marlene Ardoin
With Covid 19, fires, tornadoes and riotous elections to compete with, “Soul” hits all the right notes as one of the top films of 2020.
I do not normally like animated films, but this one held my attention.
Jamie Foxx plays the voice of Joe Gardner, who is a passionate jazz pianist and a music teacher, whose life is put on pause. Sound familiar?
This pause allows Joe to do some thinking about his current life.
He appears to have low self-esteem in regard to his work as a teacher, while he longs to be a jazz pianist.
On the one hand, he gets retirement, health care, paid vacations and sick leave, while on the other hand, he could choose an insecure, nomadic life with none of the above.
The question that arose for me was “Why”?
If he loves playing piano to a crowd, why is the sacrifice so formidable?
Joe is forced to consider what makes his life worth living. He considers the taste of good food, the wonder of a leaf falling from a tree, loving interactions with others, human encouragement, and time to spend with his family.
As a musician, his source of love would probably come from an audience, because he would be spending so much time on the road. There is no time to develop a lasting human relationship.
His deceased father was a musician, and his mother now makes a living as a seamstress.
It occurred to me that it is not fair that so few musicians or artists make a decent living.
In order for them to be recognized, they need to devote almost all their time to honing their craft, practicing, playing, dressing the part, and being a charismatic performer.
It is no mystery why so many successful artists have drug or alcohol problems.
Is it all about fulfilling one’s life purpose or do we choose the safe life in order to have a sane and secure life.
Maybe he should try something new. I am not talking about going into life with a fresh, enthusiastic perspective, unless one has the narcissistic disorder.
If individuals get to do what they love, everyone benefits. How about some kind of safety net?
Wouldn’t it be better that he gets to try out what he really wants to do, which could very well be teaching.
I thought “Soul” was very thought provoking and very timely.
Joe gets to see his life from a soul’s perspective.
Voice cast
- Jamie Foxxas Joe Gardner, a passionate jazz pianist and music teacher whose soul gets separated from his body after an accident[3]
- Tina Feyas 22, a soul trapped in the Great Before with a dim view of life[3]
- Graham Nortonas Moonwind, a spiritual sign twirler[4]
- Rachel Houseas Terry, a soul counter in the Great Beyond[5]
- Alice Bragaand Richard Ayoade as two of the soul counselors in the Great Before who are all named Jerry[6][7]
- Phylicia Rashadas Libba Gardner, Joe’s mother[8][9][10]
- Donnell Rawlingsas Dez, Joe’s barber[7]
- Questloveas Lamont “Curley” Baker, a drummer in Dorothea Williams’ band. He is also a former student of Joe’s and was taught how to drum by him[8][9]
- Angela Bassettas Dorothea Williams, a respected jazz musician and saxophone player[11]
Additionally, Daveed Diggs plays Paul, Joe’s neighborhood nemesis;[3][8][9] Cora Champommier plays Connie, one of Joe’s middle school band students; Wes Studi, Fortune Feimster and Zenobia Shroff play other soul counselors named Jerry;[5][7] Margo Hall and Rhodessa Jones play Melba and Lulu, Libba’s co-workers;[5] June Squibb plays Gerel, a soul who meets Joe before going to the Great Beyond;[7] and Esther Chae plays Miho, a bassist in Williams’ band.[12] Cody Chesnutt provides his vocals, from his song “Parting Ways”, as a street singer with a guitar.[13] John Ratzenberger cameos as an offscreen voice in Joe’s memories, a role for which he was uncredited.[14][15] Sakina Jaffrey, Calum Grant, Laura Mooney, Peggy Flood, Ochuwa Oghie, Jeannie Tirado, and Cathy Cavadini provide the voices of Doctor, Hedge Fund Manager, Therapy Cat Lady, Marge, Dancerstar, Principal Arrayo and Dreamerwind.[5]
| Directed by | Pete Docter |
| Produced by | Dana Murray |
| Written by | · Pete Docter |
| Starring | · Jamie Foxx
· Tina Fey |
| Music by | · Trent Reznor |
| Cinematography | · Matt Aspbury
· Ian Megibben |
| Edited by | Kevin Nolting |
| Production companies |
· Walt Disney Pictures |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
| Release date | · October 11, 2020 (BFI)
· December 25, 2020 (United States) |
| Running time | 101 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $150 million+[1] |
| Box office | $7.6 million[2] |
Soul wiki:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_(2020_film)
Joe finds himself mentoring 22 (Tina Fey), a soul trapped in the Great Before with a dim view of life.
1/27/2021 # Soul