I've been a little resistant to the charms of PIXAR's "Soul," and I'm not sure why. It's an absolutely lovely piece of cinema, featuring all the creative powers of the PIXAR artists at their best, and telling the kind of original story I'm always glad to see from them. The hero is a middle-aged, African-American piano player and music teacher named Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx), who loves playing jazz but has struggled to launch his career as a professional musician. Then one day, he suffers a terrible accident and finds himself a disembodied soul on an existential quest to return to his body, avoid "the Great Beyond," and help mentor a new soul dubbed 22 (Tina Fey).
"Soul" is one of the most ambitious films PIXAR has made yet, all about the concepts of life and death, meaning and purpose. There's nothing remotely toyetic in sight, but there are a lot of difficult ideas handled in interesting ways. 22, for instance, needs to discover her "spark" before she can go to Earth. Joe assumes that a "spark" is a passion or purpose, like his love for music, but of course it's much more complicated. As a disembodied soul, Joe travels through planes of being like "the Zone," that is usually accessed by transcendental experiences, and the "Great Before," the home of new souls being prepared for life. There are also the Jerrys and Terrys who look after the souls, Lost Souls who have become stuck in existential funks, and a gang of New-Agers who travel the Zone for fun.
However, the film is at its best when Joe is living his unglamorous life in New York - trying to inspire a roomful of students, getting a haircut, visiting his mother Libba (Phylicia Rashad), and landing his big break - a gig with saxophone player Dorthea Williams (Angela Bassett). New York has never looked more beautiful in its full autumnal glory, and perhaps jazz has never been more lovingly brought to screen. There's such care and such attention to detail in the way that the musicians are animated, the way that finger movements and body language are captured. And no small amount of credit should go to Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and John Batiste, for their contributions to the score.
The metaphysical hijinks are a lot of fun, but they feel awfully reminiscent of director Pete Docter's last film, "Inside Out," but with less color and vibrancy. There's a lot to like about the fantasy visions of places like the Great Beyond - essentially a giant "2001: a Space Odyssey" homage, or the Jerrys who are abstract line-art people, but at the same time it all feels reductionist and oversimplified in a way that prior PIXAR movies have usually managed to avoid. It's strange to be drawing comparisons to other versions of the afterlife (and prelife) from movies like "Defending Your Life," "A Matter for Life and Death," and such, but the "Soul" version feels oddly lacking. Joe's real living existence is so rich and beautiful and finely textured, that pairing it with such a cartoonish, simplistic conception of non-life doesn't quite seem to fit.
These are minor complaints, of course. I fully enjoyed the way the film played out, providing some new twists on old concepts, and exploring various ideas that only animation could do justice to. The performances are a lot of fun, and I think the best compliment I can give them is that I had no idea who voiced Joe or 22 until the end credits. I also appreciated that "Soul" is about an adult grappling with adult problems and crises, and resolves them in a mature way. Much is left ambiguous, revelations are not spelled out, and Joe is left to make his big decisions by himself. I honestly don't know how kids are going to react to this one, though I expect they'll enjoy the funny bits and the bright colors, which there are plenty of.
"Soul" is wonderfully life-affirming, a marvel to look at, and a worthy addition to the PIXAR lineup. I don't know if I buy its conception of how souls and the universe work, but its heart is definitely in the right place.
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