Soul Movie Review
Nathan Swank
December 22nd, 2020
The new animated film from Disney and Pixar, SOUL follows Joe (Jamie Foxx), a single, middle-age, jazz teacher. Joe’s dream of playing jazz on the piano professionally has always eluded him. Even after finally being offered a permanent teaching position with better pay and insurance, Joe is reluctant, believing he would somehow be giving up his dream. His mother begs him to give up on his nightly gigs and make the responsible decision. However, Joe’s in luck, a former student has landed Joe an audition as the piano player for a reputable Jazz artist. But just as Joe’s dreams are coming true, his life abruptly comes to an end. As Joe’s soul is escalating up to presumably heaven, he realizes he’s not ready and refuses to let this be reality. Finding a way to jump off the track, Joe begins searching for a way to break the after-life system and get back to his body to play his dream gig.
The setup is cute, even if the individual, albeit richly developed, character story is a bit familiar. But the film gets a boost of excitement in the way it depicts the procedures of the afterlife, which is unfortunately a small portion of the film that finds creativity and branches from the formula. Specifically the idea of a place where young souls need to discover their ‘spark’ before they enter their newborn body. This is also where we meet 22 (Tina Fey), a pre-body soul who after billions of souls have come and gone, has never found a spark to ready her for an earthly body.
Unfortunately, the film quickly falls into predictable body swapping tropes through familiar mixed identity gags. While SOUL plays a lot with similar plot lines and character choices from past films, it still manages to find some charming aspects. Nevertheless, SOUL faces an uphill battle being compared to every nearly perfect movie that Pixar has put out before it. Ultimately making it simply not special enough to warrant any high praise.
The voice acting by Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey are great, but they don’t have enough material to warrant memorable performances. Personally, I was more intrigued by the after-life accountant who couldn’t figure out how his soul counting was off. The musical score from Jonathan Batiste, Atticus Ross, and Trent Reznor, matching the character’s numerical hunt was invigorating, pushing me to the edge of my seat as if I was watching some dark, heart-pounding mystery in a David Fincher film.
There are so many aspects to consider when reviewing SOUL that I’m having trouble rightly dividing how I feel about it. Obviously, what aspect weighs heaviest on you as an individual viewer is where you might lean up or down on my grade. There is no denying that the visuals are fantastic and the after-life story aspect is imaginative and creative. I appreciate the bright colorful texture of the images and the rich characters, particularly our main protagonist Joe. However, I’m not sure I’m on board with how SOUL delivers its message nor the choice in the final outcome.
The film carefully walks a line as it covers a heavy and advanced topic of death by not focusing on heaven or hell, but simply appreciating life and living it in the best way possible. And I’m okay with that, “living in the best way possible” part. It’s the second chance possibility or the idea of cheating heaven or the absence of God that I had trouble with. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying the film should appease my belief system. But by attempting this topic at all, sort of alienates all belief systems.
I think that’s ultimately the most difficult aspect of SOUL. It’s not that the film doesn’t fit my spiritual and biblical teaching, but that it isn’t going to match most people’s teachings or beliefs. I don’t, as I’m sure many parents won’t, want to confuse my children as to what we prefer to teach them about the afterlife. I want to be clear that I don’t find SOUL offensive. On the contrary, I found the film to be very interesting and imaginative with a lot of heart. But I also believe it takes a slightly more mature mind to differentiate fiction and faith. And I definitely don’t want my children to get the impression that you can come back to life after you die.
To be fair, SOUL is actually about appreciating life and the people around you. A nice lesson that one might say you are never too young to learn. But that message is probably less impactful for a child looking through the lens of a middle-aged man who isn’t fully satisfied with his life. The filmmakers soften this aspect with humor and try to mask it at one point with Joe being a cat and the child-like innocence of 22 inhabiting his middle-age body. But I believe that’s only enough to elevate the material for kids and adults to mild enjoyment without ever truly loving.
I also want to point out that INSIDE OUT and WALL-E, are easily my two favorite Pixar films. While those have complex themes, I think they manage to cover them more thoughtfully, with entertaining action and humor that appeases both adults and children alike. With strong characters and an overall cuteness in story, SOUL presents its heavy topic to children in a less desirable manner, while at the same time using jokes that are too familiar or tired for adults. Perhaps a product of their own well-deserved success, I expect Pixar material to be a bit more clever in its storytelling with a lot more laughs in its humor.
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