The Arc Light allows you to pick your seat ahead of time on a seating chart, shop for movie merchandise, grab a cocktail, and recline in a comfy chair in a stadium-seating style theatre. After a glass of local zinfandel, I was ready to be the most receptive audience ever in these lush environs.
On the bill that evening was Solitary Man, Michael Douglas' return to Wall Street, post-recession automobile mogul who made some unethical business choices both at work and at play. As a character study, profiles in despicable behavior and the women who condone or reject it (Mary Louise Parker, Susan Sarandon, Olivia Thirlby, and Jenna Fischer to name a few), this movie succeeds. I felt I knew these characters and understood their buy-in to the drama. However, the impulse to tie Douglas' character's vices together into a neat little explanation at the end seemed artificial. I wasn't sure where it needed to go, but this didn't work for me.
The film did answer the central question though: Can he--Michael Douglas the actor-- still do it? The answer is yes. And for the secondary up-and-comers: Thirlby, Fischer, and Jesse Eisenberg -- can they hold their own? Absolutely.
Ruminate with the zen-ed out Socal types with a green tea latte and vegan chocolate chip cookie at Urth Caffe on Melrose. Yup, they have valet.
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