"Soul" Review: The Reflection We Need In 2020
Pixar has a way with giving us films that speak to children, the inner child in adults, and adults. Their latest film, “Soul”, hits all three. While it has its moments of bloat and overly-complex narrative, there’s no doubt that it will leave you thinking about your life and the journey we all walk in finding our purpose.
Jamie Foxx voices Joe Gardner, a band teacher who has been waiting for his big break as a musician. He spends his time like most people do who aren’t working their dream job. He works at school, tutors after school to make ends meet, and plays gigs in his off time. So when he finally gets the opportunity to play piano for Dorothea Williams (Angela Bassett) he’s beyond ecstatic! Blinded by enthusiasm he misses the open man hole he walks into while talking on the phone.
Fresh out of his body, Joe is in a long line full of people going to The Great Beyond, but feeling that he was just about to finally make it, he fights to get out of impending doom. His actions land him in The Great Before, a place where souls are trained before diving to Earth to get a body and pursue their purpose in life. As Joe tries to find a loophole to get back to Earth himself, he’s paired up as a mentor for 22 (Tina Fey), a soul who does everything she can to not go to Earth. Amazingly, everything mentioned above is in the trailer.
If you can get past what feels like a seriously hard attempt to create a beautiful, bright new world that still addresses large issues like Pixar did previously with “Inside Out”, the bones of finding out our purpose in life are solid. Foxx’s Joe Gardner is a kind man with enough of a chip on his shoulder to make him oblivious to the truth that he matters to his community and has a good life. The film analyzes what makes a life “good” and worth living through the eyes of 22. Simultaneously, we see a refresher for Joe as he is able to see the world as 22 sees it.
“Soul” gives us Pixar’s first movie centered around a black character. Like “The Princess Frog”, Joe spends a considerable amount of time outside of his body, but fortunately at least half of the time we see an animated black lead. In fact, Pixar nails a lot of black culture in this film. From the jazz players (notably Angela Bassett as Dorothea) to Joe’s mother’s (Phylicia Rashad) seamstress shop, screenwriters Pete Docter, Mike Jones, and Kemp Jones hit the nuances that are uniquely black vernacular while still universal themes of connection and love. A beautifully captured scene where Joe gets his haircut in the barbershop is equal parts funny and true to life. The barbershop represents a space of education, humor, and camaraderie for black boys and men where conversations can go from the basketball game to how to be a better father in an instant. It’s so fluid with the rest of the film you could miss it, but I appreciated being able to ask my son if it looked familiar and he give a resounding “Yes!”.
We’ve come to have high expectations of Pixar Animation Studios and “Soul” won’t let you down. While it may not be as moving and profound as “Inside Out”, the film still poses big questions in an animated movie. While it doesn’t answer where we come from or where we go after life in our body ends, it does make you think about what you do while you’re living. In a tumultuous year like 2020, “Soul” is right on time to help us focus on what’s most important!
Rating: B+
