Review: Soul
Soul, directed by Pete Docter, tells the tale of Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx), a middle school band teacher scraping by until one day he lands the chance of a lifetime to perform alongside a well renowned Jazz group and make it big just as he always dreamed. But right before the big night, life unexpectedly throws Joe a curveball in the form of a manhole that Joe falls in…and dies. Now an untethered soul barely clinging onto life, Joe is assigned to be a mentor for an unborn soul called 22 (Tina Fey) who is in need of a purpose in life before she is able to be sent to Earth to be born. The two team up to get Joe back into his body while also discovering what it means to be alive.
This is the latest film from Pixar Animation and one of the latest films to be forced to go into online streaming as a result of the COVID pandemic that’s continuing to keep theaters shut. I have to say: of all the films that got their theatrical run cancelled this is one that stings. This film was clearly one that Disney was pushing to be big; it was scheduled to premiere at Cannes, it’s being advertised as one of the most socially progressive Pixar films so far with the majority of the cast people of color, it’s a philosophically deep concept helmed by arguably the best director working in Pixar today, this was set up to be both a box office and critical success. And then COVID happened and instead of opening on the big screen, the film is now thrown onto Disney+ as more of an after-thought, ironically keeping in tune with the film’s message.
This film will still be popular with the critics and it will undoubtedly sweep awards season in the next several months, and when you see it it’s very easy to see why. Much like Pete Docter’s previous films, Soul is a thematically heavy narrative wrapped in a super simple but extremely well-presented package. It rings so many bells and whistles, but when you look at the core story of the film it doesn’t really keep up with the super heavy themes and ideas that it revolves around.
Without going into spoilers, the plot is a bit of a mixed bag. It starts off very strong for the first thirty or so minutes. I loved the opening sequence and the initial set-up of the film; the film introduces its ideas in a way that won’t throw kids off despite those ideas being incredibly heavy in nature, and it helps that those ideas are accompanied by some of the best animation yet in a Pixar film AND a beautifully crafted score by none other than Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
Then Act II kicks in and the plot just becomes a typical Pixar plot. For a film that’s suppose to be “original” it feels painfully familiar in a lot of aspects, so much so that I started checking out halfway into the film because it’s very easy to see where this film’s going. No amount of beautiful visuals can hide the fact that this film’s story is about as generic as they come.
The best moments of the plot however are most definitely moments where our characters do things that aren’t related to the plot. Pete Docter really shows an understanding of how to make these seemingly mundane moments in his films incredibly special. Just as in Up and Inside Out, the quieter moments in this film are incredible in their own way, but much like Inside Out the tedious and generic nature of the overall plot makes it really hard to appreciate these moments.
The film’s main character was also super unlikable. It’s hard for me to get invested in the film because Joe is a bit of a dick; he goes through several character arcs where he seems to be gradually changing, only for him to go back to the beginning and be uncharacteristically mean throughout, contradicting some of the life messages he teaches to 22 just so we can have our generic third act climax. The rest of the characters are hit or miss, with some being well rounded and others basically being there as filler, the jokes are a little obnoxiously presented at times while occasionally earning a chuckle every now and then, and the ending of the film doesn’t feel earned and, without spoiling anything, feels awfully cheap.
Now despite its severe flaws in the story, do I still believe this to be a good film? Yes, but barely. Overall this film does just enough for me to be a little bit forgiving on its shortcomings. What this film does right it does remarkably right, and it’s worth seeing on the biggest screen possible. Sadly that’s not really an option for a lot of people right now so we’ll have to make due with the TV in our living room. This film has the potential to definitely be overhyped in the coming weeks so keep your expectations moderate but I think a good majority of people will find something to love here. Check it out and see for yourself.
Final Verdict: 6/10