Soul Review: A Beautiful, Harmonic Celebration of Life

2020 has sent a wide variety of movies that world otherwise have been theatrical blockbusters to digital release. Though we miss the big screen experience, it makes a lot of great films more accessible, and Soul is one you have to take in.

Soul tells the story of Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx), an amateur musician who teaches middle school band while dreaming of his big break. It’s a fairly standard character profile that relies on writing to make our hero loveable and relatable—and does so throughout the movie.

On the verge of his dreams coming true, Joe runs into misadventures that see him suspended between this life and the next. Desperate to avoid death, he stumbles on The Great Before and 22 (Tina Fey), a soul-to-be who has avoided ever going to Earth for a human life.

What follows is an epic journey from the studio that seems to do no wrong (at least not if you ignore the Cars sequels,) taking us from the reality we know to everything that happens before, during, and after it, exploring the meaning of life itself.

This is also the first Pixar feature to have a Black character in the lead role. Though there are no real discussions of race, the background of jazz itself is tied to the Black experience. Many supporting characters are also BIPOC.

As important as the plot points and morals of this story are, you can easily love Soul even if you lose track of them completely. It’s a treat just to see and listen to, and I would happily watch again on the big screen if theaters are able to offer the opportunity.

On Joe’s Earth, the imagery meets Pixar’s usual standard, often disconcertingly realistic and always with an eye to detail. The various other realms it inhabits are beautiful, even hauntingly so on the plain white staircase in a great void that carries souls to the beyond.

Whether through Joe’s improvisational riffs, while he’s playing in a club with his idol, or just in the background, jazz music is the fuel that brings life to every moment. In a world that often dismisses the genre, this is a love story to it.

A note for families: Soul is certainly a movie that kids of all ages can enjoy for the visuals, loveable characters, and handful of slapstick laughs, but this is easiy Pixar’s most mature film to date, as much, if not more, for adults than kids.

This isn’t to say this is a straight drama. There’s plenty of levity, a great deal of which comes from the otherworldly characters we’d expect to be the most aloof. You’ll laugh out loud at several points both lighthearted and absurd—Joe does spend about half the movie as a cat.

Still, this is a serious story, not only for the subject matter that arcs throughout, but also for the very human characters, including Joe’s loving but concerned mother and a friend who gave up his own dreams for his daughter and is still perfectly happy

The end of the movie works to bring Joe’s motivations and goals full circle. Yet, though both get their moments, we don’t see whether the side of him that wants to be a great jazz pianist or the side that learns to accept his worth as a teacher will “win”.

Instead, the message of Soul is both broader and more simple, speaking to the ability to find happiness on whatever path life takes. Joe tells us himself in the film’s final lines, after an elder asks what he’ll do with his newly “regifted” life:

 I‘m not sure. But I do know I’m going to live every minute of it.

 

What did you think of Soul? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Soul streams through Disney+.

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What to Watch on TV: Sylvie’s Love, Bridgerton, Soul