Not a lot happens in "Goodbye Solo." At least not by the usual standards of the summer movie season.
But that's why this drama is such a nice little antidote to the action-comes-first style of filmmaking that dominates movies this time of year.
It's a character piece that, admittedly, takes some time to get where it's going.
And yes, most of this film is build-up — the final third or so of the story is the really "meaty" part. Yet by that time, we're so invested in these people that we want to know more about them.
The film's title refers to Solo (Souleymane Sy Savane), a Senegalese-born man who is driving a cab in North Carolina.
Solo's most recent fare is William (Red West), a gruff, older man. William tells Solo that he wants go to the nearby mountain range, to a spot known as Blowing Rock.
He won't tell Solo why he wants to go there, or what he's going to do when he arrives. In fact, he's pretty guarded about himself.
So, Solo is determined to find out more about his mysterious fare, though this puts a strain on his personal and professional life.
The relationship between these two men is the center of the story, but co-screenwriter/director Ramin Bahrani (2005's "Chop Shop") also explores Solo's relationship with his pregnant Latina wife (Carmen Leyva) and young stepdaughter (Diana Franco Galindo). And smartly, Bahrani adds a lot of low-key humor to make sure things don't become too dire.
But it still wouldn't work if we didn't believe in the developing friendship between Solo and William. Bahrani gives veteran character actor West and charismatic newcomer Savane the necessary time to explore this unlikely dynamic, and both give terrific performances.
"Goodbye Solo" is not rated but would probably receive an R for strong sexual language (profanity, vulgar slang terms and other suggestive talk), derogatory language and slurs (mostly based on race and nationality), some brief strong violence (fisticuffs and vehicular mayhem), and brief drug content and references (prescription medicines and marijuana). Running time: 91 minutes.
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com