Solitary Man

Ben Kalmen is a once-prominent car magnate whose career and private life start to fall apart after a string of poor professional decisions and self-destructive romantic choices. He leans on charm, bravado and persuasive salesmanship to smooth over bad deals and awkward breakups, but the consequences accumulate: business partners grow wary, lovers withdraw, and legal and financial pressures encroach. As his reputation erodes, Ben oscillates between denial and impulsive attempts to regain what he lost, even as people around him react with impatience, anger or bemusement. The film keeps focus on his personal decline and the immediate fallout, showing how charisma and status can mask, but not ultimately prevent, mounting trouble. Small moments of humor puncture the growing tension throughout.

Released in 2009, Solitary Man was written by Brian Koppelman and David Levien and presented as an indie-leaning character film. The ensemble includes Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon, Danny DeVito, Mary-Louise Parker and Jenna Fischer, emphasizing performance over spectacle and restraint.

It earned modest box office returns in limited theatrical release, failing to register as a mainstream commercial success. Over time the film reached wider viewers through home video releases, rental markets and streaming platforms, where it developed modest cult appreciation.

Michael Douglas's central turn generated discussion about middle-aged male leads who act without accountability, and the film is often mentioned in conversations about portrayals of ego and decline in contemporary adult dramas. While not a defining mainstream work, it influenced how later indie films treated morally compromised protagonists on screen.

Critical response was mixed to positive, with many reviewers singling out Douglas's energetic, unglamorous performance while arguing the screenplay's tone wavered. Audiences rated it unevenly. Central themes include personal responsibility, the erosion of privilege, attempts at reinvention and the personal cost of prioritizing image over substance in middle age stories.