Goodbye Solo

As William, a taciturn senior who seems to be planning for his final days, veteran character actor and former Elvis Presley bodyguard Red West takes center stage in Goodbye Solo, co-written and directed by Ramin Bahrani (Man Push Cart, Chop Shop), who has quietly emerged as one of the major figures in American independent film. In Goodbye Solo, the title character (excellent newcomer Souléymane Sy Savané) is a Senegalese-born taxi driver who cruises the streets of Winston-Salem. Solo gives a ride to William and is perplexed by William's request that he pick William up again at a date in the near future and deposit him at the top of a local mountain — no questions asked. The more Solo pries, the more William retreats. Yet a profound, fragile bond forms between the two men. The revelation of the film is West. In his first leading role, West seems like an old buffalo nickel uncovered from the recesses of a dusty bureau, its worth derived not from its assigned value but from the places it has been and the hands it has passed through.