NEW YORK (AP) — Robert Downey Jr. sets out to create an objective portrait as a tribute to the father of underground filmmaking maverick Robert Downey Sr. His father had other plans.
“The key point in this is when he said, ‘OK, I think we should split into two camps. The[expletive]movies and the movies I make,'” said Downey Jr. “I just said, ‘Man, hats off to you, Pops.'”
“master” Directed by Chris Smith, this is more of a father-son harmony than Downey Sr.’s typically blunt assertion of filmmaking independence suggests. This is a kind of Home His movie, made primarily by Downey Jr., but sprinkled with insertions of his father himself. It was his idol-busting father, whose experimental films gave Downey Jr. entry into filmmaking and whose extraordinary personality did much to inform his son of both good and bad, freedom. It’s a son’s loving reckoning with a free-spirited cult filmmaker. As Downey Jr. says, “My dad and I are pretty flawed guys.”
“It was a way of putting something between us in our own relationships and closures. I didn’t know that was the quickest way to get to the heart of things,” said Downey Jr. “It’s like a little string you pull on,” he said in a recent phone interview from Los Angeles with his wife and producing partner Susan Downey. I’m going to pull you down the rabbit hole that I kind of had to go down to do.
Downey Sr. died last year at the age of 85 After having Parkinson’s disease. It’s part of the movie. Downey Sr. wanted it. “Sr,” which debuted on Netflix on Friday, was meant to capture his last days.About 50 years ago, when Downey Jr. was five years old, his father’s Published in 1970, Dog made his debut with his comedy “Pound”.
“For better or worse, I can recall this entire incarnation pretty well,” says Downey Jr., 57. I can still see the passed Mounds Bar. That was the first prop I had to deal with. ”
Years before he was an Oscar-nominated actor for “Chaplin” or a star for “Iron Man,” Downey Jr. was, as he says in the movie, “For a long time, just Bob Downey. was a child of Absurd and spontaneous films like the 1971s “Putney Swope” and the 1972s “Greaser’s Palace” making Elder Downey a pivotal counterculture provocateur who defined himself outside the mainstream.
“Sr.” showcases Downey Jr.’s reverence for his father and their mutual love for one another. But that doesn’t mean the old man was always generous with his famous son. Every 15 years or so, he gives a thumbs up.
“I hate to say it, but he was a bit of a snobbery. Susan and I did a few Sherlock movies. He was like, ‘Cute.’ I did a lot of the Marvel stuff and he was like, ‘Hmm. increase. “I remember thinking ‘Less Than Zero’ was good. He thought ‘Chaplin’ was too episodic. He liked it. “
Again under his father’s direction, Downey Jr. proudly sings the song in the film. As a viewer, it’s easy to see how similar they are, but Downey Jr. hesitates to define what he inherited from his father.
“His wild optimism and continued hyper-curiosity was incomprehensible,” he says. “I’m not necessarily surprised by the fact that ducks have baby ducks and those ducks have gotten bigger.”
Susan Downey disagrees. “You absolutely have your worldview. You’re very aware of what’s going on around you, like Senior did, and you comment on it,” she said. “And I think you’re dealing with the uncomfortable through humor. This is the secret power you have. There’s something wonderful that goes with it, and that’s why avoidance patterns can be maintained.” there is potential.”
Downey Sr.’s cocaine use was pervasive in these ’70s movies. This environment certainly influenced Downey Jr.’s own struggle with drug addiction later on. That’s the point Downey Jr. makes in the movie. he replies:
But “senior”. In many ways, it’s a portrait of how both Downeys recovered, stabilized, and found peace through their families.Downey Jr., with his second wife, Laura Ernst, who died in 1994, and his 3 Rosemary, his second wife, alleged that Rogers caused his father’s metamorphosis.
“I can sympathize with Susan Downey’s empire, which has no end until this current administration,” Downey Jr. says.
When Downey Sr.’s health deteriorated, they moved the film’s editing room into his bedroom. Susan Downey also lost his father to Parkinson’s disease in 2020. “He was a saint compared to us Downey boys,” Downey Jr. says. The movie was how they connected. The last movie Downey Jr. and his father saw together was the musical biopic satirical film Walk Hard. they had a good laugh.
Since the premiere of “Sr.” at the Telluride Film Festival, Downey Jr. has realized that the film becomes a projection of the experiences of others who have lost a parent. Drag the camera into the father’s room to find the answer. “I was only going to get to the bottom of it once,” he says. Like most sons who seek such clarity, he felt, Downey Jr. came out empty-handed.
But in “Sr.,” the two films they’re each making eventually meld seamlessly into one, creating a deeper understanding between Jr. and Sr. than either of them immediately admitted. suggests that there is There are also ongoing discoveries.
After an indoctrination to unconventional movies as a child, Downey Jr.’s authentic live performances can no doubt be attributed to the frenzied energy he knew on his father’s set. Downey Jr. said:
He often found it as comfortable and rewarding as any other director. He refers to Richard Attenborough (“Chaplin”) as “a very wise and loving grandfather.” Jon Favreau (“Iron Man”) was “like a brother.” Cinema was and still is a “family business,” says Susan Downey.
It’s also very strange because I’m doing this movie with director Park Chan-wook. Now called “The Sympathizer”, he plays a variety of characters. Not experimental at all. Very meaty. But it’s kind of reminiscent of the senior experience,” says Downey Jr.
Caught in that fresh realization, Downey Jr. exclaims: Live from the epicenter of Gestalt Therapy in Southern California! ”
Then he sighs. “So I’m still working for my dad.”
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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter. http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP