X
- 2022
- R
- Netflix
- 1 h 29 m
- 2022
- R
- Netflix
- 1 h 29 m
Summary Follow the tender but appropriately irreverent account of the life and career of Robert Downey, Sr., the fearless and visionary American director who set the standard for countercultural comedy in the 1960s and 1960s.
Directed By: Chris Smith
- 2022
- R
- Netflix
- 1 h 29 m
- 2022
- R
- Netflix
- 1 h 29 m
Sr.
78
6.6
Where to Watch
Summary Follow the tender but appropriately irreverent account of the life and career of Robert Downey, Sr., the fearless and visionary American director who set the standard for countercultural comedy in the 1960s and 1960s.
Directed By: Chris Smith
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 19 Critic Reviews
78
95% Positive
18 Reviews
18 Reviews
5% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 19 Critic Reviews
78
95% Positive
18 Reviews
18 Reviews
5% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
A film which shows how cinema can bring people together, bond generations over a common interest and capture something timeless along the way.
There's something lovely and quietly profound about where the film finds itself in the end: a generational love story that transcends old wounds and misadventures, and even, in its tender final moments, death itself.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 8 User Ratings
6.6
63% Positive
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
25% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
13% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 8 User Ratings
6.6
63% Positive
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
25% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
13% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
How does one sum up the life of a loved one in a few hours of film? That can be especially challenging when it involves someone who lived a full life, one that distinguished the individual in question as an artist, an innovator, a rebel, and, perhaps most of all, a loving soul. That’s the task that actor-director Robert Downey Jr. undertook when creating this cinematic tribute to his father, Robert Sr., in the waning months of his life. In doing so, the junior Downey has compiled a documentary that examines the irreverent, unconventional underground filmography of his dad, including a wealth of clips from cult classics like “Putney Swope” (1969), “Pound” (1970), “Greaser’s Palace” (1972) and “Two Tons of Turquoise to Taos Tonight” (1975), as well as footage from a project the elder filmmaker was working on during the compilation of this production. In addition, the film features interviews with some of Senior’s colleagues, such as Norman Lear, Alan Arkin and character actor Larry Wolf, along with those whose work he significantly influenced, like director Paul Thomas Anderson. But, more than that, the film also chronicles the life of Downey Sr. the man, particularly his loving relationship with his successful yet often-troubled son and his personal battle with Parkinson’s Disease. The inclusion of this material thus gives the picture a quality of universality as it seeks to address the big questions of life that we should all strive to understand as we come to the ends of our lives, issues deftly handled here with profound sensitivity and heartfelt feeling. For all these strengths, though, there are a number of sequences that feel like unfocused filler, especially early on when the film strives to find its footing and establish the tone it’s attempting to set for what follows. Once that’s accomplished, however, this offering flourishes, growing ever more captivating the further one gets into it. Indeed, there’s certainly more going on here than a mere laundry list career recitation, presenting a portrait of an individual – and a relationship – that’s far more personal than what most viewers would likely expect from fare like this. Give this one time to develop, and you’re sure to find it engaging, touching and heartwarming.
Report
At the end of Sr., a documentary so personal the word “intimate” almost doesn’t do it justice, Robert Downey Jr. ponders what his 90-minute ode to his father was really all about. The simple answer, stripped of celebrity, is the painful process of saying goodbye to an aging, increasingly infirm parent, filtered through the careers of these two entertainers.
What remains unsaid is often as important as what is said in Sr., an emotional documentary directed by Chris Smith about the relationship between Robert Downey Jr. and his namesake father.
Sr. packs a wallop in the end, when it comes time for father and son to say goodbye.
Sr. is elegiac in tone, often moving, with moments of irreverence and humor.
While it’s hard not to be moved by footage of Robert Downey’s final days, the film is more informative than emotional. It contains hints of an intimate story, but mostly flattens a strange and exotic career into a series of light observations.
The tribute film "Sr." by Robert Downey Jr. to his deceased father, director Robert Downey Sr., is the stuff of fantasies; it features a freewheeling, loopy storyline that, like those of his father's movies, doesn't so much unfold as disintegrate. The chronology of Downey's brief career, from "Chafed Elbows" in 1966 to "Putney Swope" in 1969, the movie for which he is best remembered (accepted to the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress; an argument can be made for "Greaser's Palace" from 1972, a worthy film, fully realised, and borderline coherent), provides a thread that unites this story, though.
Report
Documentário é sobre o Robert Downey Sr, mas serve também para inflar o ego Jr, o tanto que ele aprece e o tanto que o roteiro faz questão da presença dele ali, só serve para diminuir a força do argumento.
Apesar disso, ver as cenas dos filmes produzidos por Sr, daquele tipo de humor undergound, é divertida, mas não passa disso. Sofrendo de Parkinson e com estágio cada vez mais avançado, pelo menos aquece um pouco o coração a humanidade como tudo foi filmado, contribuindo para um saldo positivo pelo menos. Mas tudo bem se você achar narcisista demais ou apelativo. Eu diria que é um filme leve bom para se assistir, mas meio que dispensável.
Report
I think that more than being interested in the figure of Robert Downey Sr. or just watching it for the fame of Robert Downey Jr. the simplicity and at the same time success of the documentary lies in how it works as a tribute that doesn't cut corners and addresses what it wants to be with an ease that is quite practical for any viewer. Nothing special, but this could have been genuinely boring and mediocre.
Report
Production Company
Team Downey,
Library Films
Release Date Nov 18, 2022
Duration 1 h 29 m
Rating R
Genres
Tagline Like father. Like son. Like no other.
Awards
Cinema Eye Honors Awards, US
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
National Board of Review, USA
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Hawaii Film Critics Society
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
