California Solo (2012)

As both a professional musician and a Robert Carlyle fan, I couldn't wait to see this movie. Carlyle's performance was pitch perfect, and the story kept me riveted until the end.This reminded me of the sort of movies we used to see back in the 1970s, when film makers were more concerned with emotional depth than flashy special effects. Carlyle holds nothing back in his portrayal of washed up Britpop musician Lachlan MacAldonich. His work in this role contains raw honesty that is sometimes almost painful to watch. Anyone who's ever loved and despaired over an alcoholic loved one will recognize Lachlan MacAldonich's struggle to avoid the heartache that he, himself, has generated by his own chemical dependency.Sadly, there were two things which marred this movie for me. One problem was Alexia Rasmussen, whose youth and lackluster acting made her ill-suited to the role of Beau. Though she's certainly easy to look at and wears a hat quite well, there was no real spark during her scenes with Carlyle. And since Beau didn't appear much older than Lachlan's daughter Ari, it made me uncomfortable to watch Carlyle's much older character chasing after her.The major flaw was Marshall Lewy's total ignorance of basic psychology, which made the ending a bit hard to accept. After watching this character slowly devolve while desperately fighting deportation throughout the entire movie, Lachlan's sudden turn-about during the last remaining minutes of the film just didn't ring true. Instead of wasting footage with moody shots of Lachlan staring out the window during train rides, a bit more dialog which offered some foreshadowing of Lachlan's mental processes would have made better use of screen time.Despite its weaknesses, Robert Carlyle makes 'California Solo' worth watching. In fact, all of the actors except Rasmussen were excellent, especially A. Martinez and young Savannah Lathem, who portrayed Lachlan's daughter. This is the sort of thought-provoking film which is becoming increasingly rare in this age of over-the-top special effects, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone searching for something with a bit more depth.

The film follows a retired Britpop/mod/punk guitarist who has traded in the fame and fortune of rock-star life for an impoverished and lonely but satisfying life of peace. Underlying the protagonist's peaceful life is a lifetime of regret over the death of his band-mate brother. When legal troubles threaten to disrupt his escape from reality, he must try to make amends with those he has abandoned.I found the story to be interesting and believable, if not a bit slow. The acting is very good and the characters credible. The soundtrack is excellent.Overall, worth a watch, especially for those into the 80's British music scene.

California Solo is a laid back and entertaining character study. In recent American movies, the character studies (as opposed to biopics) of musicians have tended to be of those belonging to the country & western branch (Crazy Heart, etc.). So it's nice to see one about a British rock and roll artist. Robert Carlyle is perfectly cast as a former Scottish rock musician, now emigrated to USA and working on a farm in California. His only connection with music is the tributes to other rock bands of his era that he records at home for a local radio station. A clash with the law, which threatens deportation back to Scotland, forces him to face his inner demons and past. The film is carried by Carlyle who is both endearing and totally believable as a has been rock musician. The music is good, as is the direction and cinematography. Great fun.

I also read the screenplay before it was filmed. I too really enjoyed the story a lot. It was touching and human and not a "hollywood" story. I was also excited to know that Robert Carlyle was cast as the lead.I thought the lead character was interesting. He is an aging ex-pat living in America. I think the lives of assimilated ex-pats are very interesting but not often explored in Hollywood. Reading the script, I recognized the emotional themes of rootlessness, guilt and regret the main character goes through as issues many of my closest expat friends and family experience as well. I wish more films like this were made to be released in America and Hollywood.