Similarities in Ayers – The movie ayers and the book ayers are quite similar in characters; both

have a talent and love for music, and both are quite intelligent.. Both movies showcase him a
man with a crippiling mental disability. However, in the movie, Ayers is portrayed as more
nonsensical with little to moments of mental clarity.
Similarities in Lopez – Lopez is the most different out of any of the characters from the book.
While Lopez does form a bond with Ayers, he is a lot more aggressive in his approach to Ayers.
It took Lopez the whole film to open up to the way Ayers thinks, but Lopez in the book always
looked at Ayers with curiosity.
Minor Characters – Supporting characters are mostly the same with the exception of Lopez’s ex
wife who wants to get back with Lopez and believes Ayers is inhibiting that
Similarities in Plot – Both the book and movie follow the basic plot of Ayers and Lopez forming
a strong bond, and trying to get him help, realizing mentally ill people cant be treated, only
helped.
Similarities in setting – The setting is exactly the same, even down to the Bathoveen statue.. even
Cleveland
Differences in Plot – Ayers backstory is very different, and does not go nearly as much into
detail as the book does about it.

“Art is beauty, and beauty is music” according to Nathaniel Ayers, a schizophrenic

musical genius. In both iterations of The Soloist, Steve Lopez, a reporter, tries to understand
what makes Ayers’ musical mind tick. The main difference that separates these iterations is
focus. The book focuses on Ayer’s mental illness and backstory, while the movie focuses on
Steve Lopez and how Ayers affects him. This difference in focus leads to major changes in
characterization and plot.
Perhaps the biggest change from book to movie is Steve Lopez. While Lopez writes
about Ayers, he occasionally intersplices the story with his thoughts without acting on said
thoughts. The movie takes these thoughts and builds a character out of them. Lopez from the
movie is one-tract minded and aggressive. For example, when he tries to get Ayers help for his
schizophrenia, he gives him a strict ultimatum. While this happens in the book, book Lopez
reacts calmly, giving Ayers a logical reason to comply with the ultimatum. Movie Lopez takes
matters into his own hands, getting physical with Ayers at time when he does not listen.
Lopez was not the only one to get a character change. Ayers’ character from book to
movie has seemingly been watered down. The charming, but ill musical genius the readers see in
the book turns into a crazy man only focused on music. All moments of mental clarity and
personality are removed in movie Ayers, being replaced by a man that makes little sense and is
hard to read. Book Ayers has these moments as well, but without as much frequency; at some
points, he even shows self-awareness, something movie Ayers does not. With the humanity taken
from him, the readers have a hard time connecting to his character and the movie.
 Ayers and Lopez are not the only characters affected by the transition. Some characters
are added, and some removed. Lopez’s ex-wife, who never shows up in the book, becomes a
major side character and love interest for Lopez. Her character adds a subplot never seen in the
book. The film makers have removed a lot of important side characters for make room for said
subplot. The side characters, comprising of musicians, conductors, and medical doctors, are cut
almost entirely out of the film. The one exception to the ruler is a certain conductor who gives
Ayers’ cello lessons, and is likely kept in the movie to show Ayers’ progress as a character.
Despite all the differences in character interpretation, the main characters have some
similarities. Both the book and the movie retain Ayer’s musical genius and Lopez’s curiosity
towards Ayers.