Speaking of religion, also woven into The Soloist are a variety of references to God. At times the idea of God runs parallel to the transformative power of music; at other times the way that God may or may not be a part of reality feels more random and inconclusive.

We asked: As you saw it, where does God fit into Nathaniel and Lopez's story?

"I can only talk from a personal point of view, [but] to me, it's about a question, and a question that should be asked and needs to be asked," said Wright. "And I think when people demand answers, that's when the trouble begins. So&ellips; on one level, it's a film about two characters who are both asking questions, and they come up against different people who offer different answers, none of which are particularly satisfactory. And for me, personally, the only answer I can find is love and compassion for your fellow human being. And acceptance as well, I find to be a very important element of life."

"But I was aware that people might start to think that it was a religious film," added Wright. "So in an attempt to make sure that that was not the case, I made the only overtly religious character a character who was not necessarily particularly positively portrayed. You know, everyone is trying to cure Nathaniel. People try to cure him with medication, with money, with housing, and indeed with religion. But the point is that Nathaniel has already found his cure, and his cure is music and that gives him a faith. And to an extent the film is about faith, although certainly not a religious, indoctrinated faith."

When you say faith, what does it mean to you?

"Faith in something higher than ourselves, bigger than the individual ego. I've come to be very suspicious of individualism."

And now, as the film finally nears its theatrical release, it seems like Wright might be exercising a little bit of that faith himself.

"To be honest with you, I will never know what really happened," said Wright of the four month gap between when The Soloist was originally scheduled to hit theaters and now. "I was very hurt and very angry at the time, but as much as I hate to admit it, I think possibly, now might be the right time for the film to come out. And I think that now things have developed in a way that we hadn't foreseen, that people, it seems, want to see this film right now. And so, I'm really glad that it is actually coming out now and that it wasn't kind of sullied by the kind of horrific awards kind of egg-and-spoon race."

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