It’s the elusiveness of purpose that “Soul” swirls
around, tenderly examining what gives life
meaning. For some, it might come as easily as
the notes that pour out of Dorothea’s sax. (The
jazz scenes, curtesy of Jon Batiste, are brilliantly
transportive, part of the film’s rich musical life,
as scored by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.) But
even as “Soul” rhapsodizes the beauty of artistic
creation, it ponders the value of life for souls
of less premeditated determination. “Soul,” a
celebration of those less certain of their path in
life, is a kind of corollary to Pixar’s “Ratatouille,” a
portrait of a very purposeful young artist.
This comes through not just in 22’s journey but
Joe’s too, as he tries desperately to return to his
life and realize his long-held ambition. In the
end, Joe may remind some of Burt Lancaster’s
Archibald “Moonlight” Graham in “Field of
Dreams,” another who returns from beyond to
get another swing at an unrealized dream —
and in doing so only realizes how good he had
it, in the first place.
But the meaning of “Soul” also comes through
in the pointillist realism of Pixar. As delightful as
its imagery of the afterlife is, the best stuff might
be back on Earth. It would spoil things to say
too much, but Joe and 22 land back in New York