Goodbye Solo Movie Review

Despite the crazy and ambiguous world of American independent cinema becoming more and more painful to endure, magic sometimes occurs. Such is the case with the minor masterpiece Goodbye Solo. Out of the same school, at a simiar time, rose a group of extremely talented filmmakers which include David Gordon Green, Danny Mcbride, Jody Hill, and, the lesser known, Ramin Bahrani. In their own way, each one of these individuals has carved a little piece of themselves into the landscape of modern American independent cinema.

But what about Ramin Bahrani? He doesn’t seem to fit with the others. If you’ve seen his Man Push Cart or Chop Shop you’d know his style is unique and observant. It is less obviously aesthetic than Gordon Green’s and less slapstick and comedic than Jody Hill’s. Bahrani will likely never hit the mainstream – not anytime soon at least.

However, his movie Goodbye Solo is his best. It is a great film and deserves to be sought by film lovers everywhere. It has something that every screenwriter, filmmaker, producer, etc, strives for –  great tonality. It relies heavily on its actors, but captures something you can’t write into a script. You can’t just say, “Put feeling of existentialism and understanding of life right here”, and point to a page. That just doesn’t work. It has to come from an artist’s mind. It has to be understood throughout the entire crew and cast.

Moreover, the film follows Solo who is supposed to drive an old guy named William up to a place called Blowing Rock and it becomes seemingly evident that William just might jump off that cliff. William and Solo become friends, of sorts, and Solo hopes to delay or cancel this date with death.

One of the greatest aspects of this movie is that no one ever speaks of what is going to happen. The audience is left to think about the consequences just like Solo.

The last sequence of the movie is movie making at its best. With a small budget and inexperienced performers Bahrani is able to create a moment quite haunting. Not haunting as in a terrible, low-budget, spirits-related movie shot in a guy’s house, but on an existential level. It sounds corny, but the movie will stick with you. Few movies have such an effect on me. The end contains such perfect execution of sound design, acting, diaguloe (or lack of it), and visual composition. It comes together perfect.

Don’t be turned off by the style and perception of Bahrani as an elitist filmmaker – this is indeed a film for everyone.

I say: A+/5

-Collin