Michael Douglas's performance in 'Solitary Man' makes it better than your average fall-from-grace parable

One of the best things about Solitary Man is that directors Brian Koppelman and David Levian make sure that their film isn't overloaded with sentimentality. What could have easily turned into your run-of-the-mill redemption story is a tender and realistic film of a man trying to get his life back on track after he loses it all.

A few years ago, Ben Kalmen (Michael Douglas) had everything he could ever want: a loving family, a well-paying job, and a classy Manhattan apartment. Now, due to the inability to control his impulses, he has lost everything. Ben, however, isn't ready to give-up on himself. Even though he's divorced from his wife (Susan Sarandon), Ben is still able to keep in touch with his daughter (Jenna Fischer) and his grandson. Besides that, his new girlfriend Jordan (Mary-Louise Parker) may have the connections to get Ben's career going again. But when she asks him to take her daughter (Imogen Poots) on a college tour, Ben will be faced with the ultimate challenge to see if he really has changed for the better.

Michael Douglas's performance is the driving force of this movie. His character stays comfortably in the realm of believabilty; and never does he try to stretch beyond any further than he has to. The charm of Ben's character comes in the final scene. Through most of the movie, Ben is a morally-reprehensible character. But in the end, when the viewer finally realizes why he does the things he does, he becomes sympathetic with the snap of a finger. Jenna Fischer takes a satisfying dramatic turn away from her comedic role in The Office; and Danny Devito provides a great comic presence as one of Ben's friends from his college days.

Although Solitary Man might use a couple of cliches typically found in this type of story, it thankfully never fully descends into that trap. The film is a highly convincing portrait of a man trying to get his life straight after one too many mishaps. The emotions of the characters and original story help the film stay in the light of authenticity and never gets bogged down by formulaic plot points. It resists the predictible, and stays in the credible.

Final grade: A-