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Solitary Man

Play trailer Poster for Solitary Man R 2010 1h 29m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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77% Tomatometer 97 Reviews 50% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
A series of bad decisions upends car dealer Ben Kalmen's (Michael Douglas) business, his wandering eye costs him his marriage to Nancy (Susan Sarandon), and he has to relocate from a grand home to a tiny flat. Even Ben's current girlfriend Jordan (Mary-Louise Parker) knows he's far from perfect. But a hastily planned trip to Boston -- he's showing Jordan's teen daughter, Allyson (Imogen Poots), one of the city's many colleges -- just might rouse Ben from his losing streak.
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Solitary Man

Solitary Man

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Critics Consensus

Built around a singularly unpleasant main character, Solitary Man needed a flawless central performance to succeed -- and Michael Douglas delivers.

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Critics Reviews

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Chris Chang Film Comment Magazine 11/13/2013
The film begins and ends with scenes of acute existential reflection, a state actors rarely convey convincingly-least of all in a contemporary American film. Go to Full Review Nick Schager Lessons of Darkness 10/12/2010
C
Koppelmans script is awash in phony scenarios. Go to Full Review Angie Errigo Empire Magazine 10/08/2010
3/5
A terrific turn by Douglas, and strong support, elevates this character-driven drama above its unlikeable protagonist. Go to Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review 08/09/2023
3/4
It’s difficult to imagine anyone else but Douglas making Ben Kalmen such a likable character. Go to Full Review Rene Jordan El Nuevo Herald (Miami) 07/15/2022
Solitary Man enjoys cataloging despicable people. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins 11/30/2020
4/10
A little incomplete and largely unsatisfying. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Aug 30 I really like this. It's a weird movie b/c the lead can't get out of his own way- he's a real S#$T. There Is some redemption at the end but it's kind of a cool movie if you look at it as a character study. Great acting and the dialogue was pretty good too instead of the same old lines that are in everything. See more isla s 09/04/2022 This is a kind of interesting film. The main flaw is the main character, Ben Kalmen - someone who isn't very likeable. He has a way of distancing himself from others, including (of course) decent friends. The performances are ok and it's pretty watchable, if a bit cheesy/cringe-inducing at times perhaps, at worst. I suppose it was interesting to see how Ben worked around his situations, to not allow others to see (or perceive) him as he knew himself to be, indeed as he is - a bit of a drifter. It's not a film that will appeal to all but its ok. See more 01/08/2021 Middle aged (0ld) men will get this movies. Others probably won't hence the negative reviews. And that's just fine with me. See more 12/01/2019 The movie sucked, it was boring. It was disgusting to see Mike's wrinkly old body, and even more disgusting to see him groping and kissing that beautiful, young college girl. See more 06/18/2017 Good movie with yet again , Michael Douglas playing a sleepy jerk , which he does well. I really liked the story line , but wished the movie was fleshed out more. If they had actually shown growth or a learning curve for Douglasses character ( not anything sappy ) it would have been a much better movie. Douglas very good at playing this character type... See more 10/12/2016 Disgustingly creepy. See more Read all reviews
Solitary Man

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Cast & Crew

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Brian Koppelman

Director

David Levien

Director

Michael Douglas

Ben

Mary-Louise Parker

Jordan

Jenna Fischer

Susan

Jesse Eisenberg

Cheston

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Solitary Man

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Movie Info

Synopsis A series of bad decisions upends car dealer Ben Kalmen's (Michael Douglas) business, his wandering eye costs him his marriage to Nancy (Susan Sarandon), and he has to relocate from a grand home to a tiny flat. Even Ben's current girlfriend Jordan (Mary-Louise Parker) knows he's far from perfect. But a hastily planned trip to Boston -- he's showing Jordan's teen daughter, Allyson (Imogen Poots), one of the city's many colleges -- just might rouse Ben from his losing streak.
Director
Brian Koppelman, David Levien
Producer
Paul Schiff, Steven Soderbergh, Heidi Jo Markel
Screenwriter
Brian Koppelman
Distributor
Anchor Bay
Production Co
Nu Image, Paul Schiff
Rating
R (Some Sexual Content|Language)
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 21, 2010, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 30, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$4.4M
Runtime
1h 29m
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