Goodbye Solo
Bahrani tells the story of two men; one starting his American dream and the other ending it.

Simply put Goodbye Solo lives up to the hype that has been formed by its critics. Ramin Bahrani has created yet another masterpiece, reflecting on the lives and cultures of America’s immigrant population as they reach out to grasp their American dream. This is Bahrani’s third venture as both writer and director (helped here by Bahareh Azimi in the writing department), after his critically acclaimed Man Push Cart and Chop Shop. Goodbye Solo however invites us into Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Bahrani’s home town and is a rather inspirational film that leaves you thinking about its message long after it has ended.

The film starts in the cab of Senegalese taxi driver Solo as he talks with his customer William, a quiet seventy-something Southerner. It soon becomes apparent that William (or “Big Dog” as Solo calls him) is planning on ending his life at Blowing Rock in two weeks time, to which he wants Solo to drive him, the peak of a jagged mountain where the wind is said to have such a force that the snow falls upside-down and it can even lift a man into the sky. Although the film’s premise seems a somewhat bleak one and, indeed, at points it is rather heartbreaking, Solo brings a surprising amount of humour to the piece. Red West too gives a compelling performance as the closed off William. Bahrani has an uncanny ability to express all sides of human emotion ranging from the gloomy and pessimistic to the joyful and optimistic as well as picking his actors flawlessly to communicate these sentiments.

The film, somewhat subtly tries to show what the Western world could learn from other cultures. In fact, Solo sums up this point when he rather rightly questions “why don’t families stay together in America?” when asking William why he has been left all alone in the world. William too makes a rather telling statement when he tells Solo, “I don’t want to know anything about your life”. Although William is purposely pushing Solo away since he cannot bring himself to become attached to anyone in the last weeks of his life, the proclamation is still somewhat telling of America’s current situation culturally. Goodbye Solo gets its audience asking what they would do in such a situation. Would you really care this much about a complete stranger? He invites him into his home and, after moving into a motel room for a while with William, Solo even checks his medication to find if he has any illness and searches for any clues to William’s past that may help him out of his slump. Solo clearly immerses himself in William’s story, illustrated well by Bahrani who gives numerous shots of Solo with other customers, clearly distant, thinking of William’s fate. William too is ultimately seen to be touched by Solo and his story, jotting down his positive thoughts of the man in a note book alongside those regarding Solo’s stepdaughter.

Savané and West give truly compelling performances and Bahrani has written two incredibly convincing characters with equally impressive dialog. Their collective talent reaches its highest point during the final scenes. William and Solo say little to each other in these closing scenes but, through body language and facial expression alone, West and Savané respectively manage to communicate everything the audience needs. The way Bahrani shoots is also key to the scene’s impact since he has moved from the rather claustrophobic environment of the cab to the open space of the mountains. The beauty of Goodbye Solo, as with Bahrani’s previous works is the reality of the script and performances, something some have come to call neo-neorealism, casting first time actors to play roles depicting ordinary lives.

The only real criticism I found with the piece is the very thing that was so forceful, its successful attempt to create a realistic story. Bahrani and Azimi leave many plot points unexplained and undeveloped which may result in some being less impressed with the film. However one must hope that the majority of the audience do not need overly explanatory dialog and would rather enjoy the natural, flowing dialog of Bahrani’s world. Some too may be put off by the unlikely pairing of Solo and William, yet their paths crossing as they move in opposite directions on the ladder to the American dream is believable given the persistence of Solo.

Overall, Bahrani has created a masterpiece by telling the story of two men; one starting his American dream and the other ending it. The direction, dialog and acting are superb and the realism created helps the audience immerse themselves into the lives of William and Solo. It leaves the audience wondering what they would do in such a situation and if they would be as caring as the always cheerful Senegalese cab driver. Goodbye Solo deserves all the praise it gets; it manages to merge all aspects of human emotion with an eloquent script, emotional acting and impressive direction that will leave you thinking about it long after you have left your cinema seat.

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