MOVIE REVIEW: Soul

 (Really - Michael Bloomfield)

I am jaded.  I fully acknowledge this.  When I see that Pixar is attached to yet another animated movie, I can connect the dots on what the movie is most likely going to try and do to me.  It's going to use CG in fun and creative ways, along with some excellent voice acting talent, to tell me a story that will entertain with sly wit, some 4th wall breaks, an emotional left hook, and a story that absolutely drops itself on you like an anvil in the third act.

This is what Pixar does.  Pixar is not subtle about it.  Pixar doesn't have to be subtle because they're so damn good at it.

Seriously, I KNEW what happened at the beginning of 'Up' before I ever watched it.  It's legendary, the first 5 minutes of that film.  Even knowing, it was ... well, it was the first five minutes of 'Up'.  I'm not made of stone.

I've watched enough of their movies to no longer be surprised by any of it.  Is it impressive? Certainly.  It's just not surprising anymore.

Soul is the latest in a long line of Pixar movies, and I was in no hurry to watch it.  I don't have much time to watch movies at the moment.  That said, the opportunity arose to partake in good company, so that's precisely what I did.

Does Pixar still 'got it'?

THE SHORT VERSION:

Uh...no, actually.  No, they don't.  At least, not enough of 'it', which sort of kept me watching until the end.  And then made me regret it.

THE LONG VERSION:

I...I'm not even sure where to begin with this one.

WAIT, yes I am!  I'm going to begin by telling you that this whole review is full of SPOILERS, because there's no real way to review it without spoiling the crap out of it.

"But Steve,"  you cry, "Can't you generalize?"

Not...really, no.  Which is part of the problem with Soul.  It's not a simple movie.  It's complex.  It's very complex.  Or it thinks it is, which is...another part of the problem with Soul.

Oh, FINE.

'Soul' is the story of a man obsessed with becoming a jazz musician. His name is Joe.  He's very, very good at it. It consumes him, and he works a number of side jobs to make ends meet while he pursues his dream.  While being on the verge of said dream, he is thrust into a completely bizarre and in no way drug-inspired world where he...well, we're not really sure what he's supposed to be doing there.

See?

Seriously, spoilers.  

Actually, I lied.  Spoilers soon, but before I get there, I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the visuals and sound effects in this movie.  It should shock no one when I suggest that the visuals in 'Soul' are wonderful.  Pixar has come up with yet another way of projecting its story onto the screen.  Soul looks incredible and sounds even better.

I'd also be remiss if I didn't talk about the voice talent in the movie, all of whom were basically perfect for their respective roles.

Soul has a -lot- of fun little jokes, visual gags, and other little emotional confetti that you associate with a Pixar movie.  It's deeply textured, never dull, and always moving.  In this, it was very, very entertaining.

...Okay, now with the spoilers.

Joe dies on the eve of his big break at playing jazz.  On his way to the great beyond, he decides that he's not ready to die before he has realized his dream.  He runs, because Minority Report teaches us that everyone does, and ends up at a school for souls that teaches them how to be ready to inhabit a human body.  In order to become ready, souls need to somehow find a 'spark'.  This business with the spark is pretty much the problem with the entire movie.  The question of the film should be, "What is the spark?" Unfortunately, that question doesn't get asked until it's much too late in the film.

New souls are paired with old souls whose responsibility it is to somehow show the new souls enough 'life' to trigger this spark in the new soul.  Predictably, some souls take longer to find their sparks, and just as predictably, Joe gets unintentionally paired up with a soul that has refused to take enough interest in life to find its spark.

Logically, without having to tell you what else happens in the film, you assume that Joe succeeds with showing his student soul -- humorously referred to as 22.  This is one of the cute gags in the film, so I won't spoil why -- and in succeeding he teaches himself some valuable lessons about life and dies happily.  You might assume that Joe sacrifices his life for 22, or learns to love something other than jazz and THAT lesson is what gives 22 its spark.  All of these things would be reasonable assumptions about how this film might conclude.

None of them are what happens.  At least I don't think so?  Which...the fact that I'm not sure should tell you something about the film's climax.

The plot winds it way around humorously enough.  Joe's quest to get back to his body sees both he and 22 returned to earth.  Joe ends up in the body of a cat, and 22 ends up in Joe's body.  Joe is so intent on living his life that he pretty much puppets 22 into doing so.  Eventually 22 begins to enjoy life on its own, and that's when Joe inevitably says something hurtful that kicks off a chase scene ending them both back in the educational area for souls.  Joe is forced back into his own body and 22 runs off to sulk about not having a spark or a purpose and turns into a lost soul.

This...is...where things sort of go off the rails.

Joe gets sent back to his body and is allowed to achieve his dream.  You -know- that's what's happening because the film goes out of its way to symbolize it. The film beats you over the head with the fact that Joe is experiencing something magical. He's in 'The Zone'.  Except...somehow, in spite of it being magical, he ends up not being satisfied with it.  You know it's magical.  The movie tells you so.  Except it's not.

This kicks off a sudden -- and very quick -- journey of self discovery where Joe somehow puts two and two together about the life that 22 was enjoying while it was inhabiting his body.  You're never really told what Joe is discovering.  It must be important because of the music and imagery that Pixar leverages, you just...don't really understand what 'it' is.  Did Joe just find his spark?  If he was lacking one, how did he get his soul in the first place?  Did Joe just find what he needed to help 22 find its spark?  We don't ever really know.  We don't know what Joe found, we don't know what lesson he learned, and we don't know what he suddenly realizes he needs to tell 22 in order to guide it to its spark.  

Joe knows though, so...that's good.  He knows well enough that it kicks the third act of the film off.  Joe goes to find 22, apologizes for saying mean things, and this helps 22 find its spark.  Everyone lives happily ever after.

Roll credits.

The first and second 'acts' of Soul are serviceable enough.  The problem is, I've grown to expect a certain kind of reveal for the third act, and 'Soul' was utterly lacking in it.  I know what Soul was TRYING to achieve as far as its turning point for the plot, it just never managed to get there.  Soul is -- I think? --  trying to teach you something about what's truly important in life, it just fails utterly in doing so in any kind of obvious fashion.  There are a lot of articles out there talking about how 'if you pay close attention to the dialogue here' or 'if you listen carefully', or folks extrapolating on what the film was trying to say.

If there's any question about what message your film is trying to send, you've done it wrong in my opinion.  

Soul had the opportunity to push the narrative in a bunch of different directions.  It threatened to push it in those directions as well.  Joe's value as a teacher, and how he affected the lives of those around him, including 22. The lesson that what you're looking for might not be what you're actually looking for.  (...There's a story about a fish in the movie.) Instead of either of those things, the movie goes somewhere far more abstract.  

I actually had to go back and watch several parts of the movie before writing this review just to make sure my head was properly wrapped around things.  Or...as properly as it could be anyway.  Several things stood out to me:

- Joe gets pretty well demonized in the movie for wanting to pursue his passion and dream so fervently.  Why isn't he focusing on teaching?  Why isn't he focusing on relationships?  Why isn't he doing literally anything else with his life?  I'm not sure how fair this is.  There's nothing wrong with pursuit of a dream.  There's nothing wrong with wanting to prioritize something that is important to you in your world.  Joe's mom lectures him about how he's living his life and how he's not holding down a steady job, and what if, what if, what if.  If Joe's journey was meant to be a cautionary tale, Soul tells that tale completely wrong.

- In all this time, no one's thought that letting a Soul do a ride-along of some kind might help them find their spark?  Seriously?

- When you finally realize what the Spark actually is, it's rather simple.  So simple that people should absolutely not have taken millions of years to show 22.  It betrays the concept of the entire film.

- When Joe has his epiphany sitting in his apartment, he isn't playing jazz.

- Joe is...sort of a douche for attempting to steal a soul's will to live so that he himself can live.  That's never directly addressed.  Yes, at the end of the film he's willing to sacrifice himself.  While Pixar could have thrown an emotional haymaker here, they chickened out.

All of this, all of my observations, my complaints, all of it coalesces into one simple statement that I probably could have made at the beginning of this review:

Soul is a very pretty, very funny, decent movie that makes me work too hard to get it.  If I expect to work hard going into a film, that's one thing, but...I very rarely want to work hard in order to be entertained.  Not like this.  And I certainly don't want to have to work that hard watching something that's supposed to be a family movie.

I've gone back and watched it again, and it does mesh better the second time through after all of my introspection and consideration.

I just feel like I shouldn't have had to do that.