Tag Archives: Genius

Metamorphoses

It’s been a while since I first discovered the genius of Robert Downey Jr, it’s been many, many years. He first mesmerised me with his personification of Chaplin (he actually made me become a Chaplin-fan) when I was a teenager. Since that time, I’ve seen most of his movies, old and new, I’m on a constant lookout for them. Mostly because the guy is a frickin’ wizard; whatever role he adopts, he becomes it, he stops being himself and morphs into that role completely. It’s uncanny and frightening. You know who guys like him are: Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale, Ralph Fiennes, Robert Downey Jr. How the hell do they do it? How can they stop being themselves, how can they lose themselves so completely? How the hell can Christian Bale lose 20 kilos and become an insomniac neurotic, how does Ralph Fiennes turn into a believable nazi, where does Robert Downey Jr get the unbelievable inner strength to do everything he does in his movies? Ryan Gosling makes me believe every single move of his hand, every single flick of his eyes. Where is the limit between sanity and the netherworld, where do they stop existing for real, when do they give up and pass into the other dimension called death? How soon will they follow the path of Heath Ledger?

I just watched Two girls and a guy and I’m again blown away by the genius of Robert Downey Jr. It’s not a very profound movie but what role has he been anything less than brilliant in? Then again, it’s a great snapshot of a disfunctional relationship between a young man and his mother, which results in his involuntarily abusing two women emotionally. Do they forgive him, or do they take revenge? Then it turns out they are just as crooked as he is, if screwing around in a relationship can be called crooked. Great dialogue and a nice twist in the end, probably made out of a stage play, but most of all, the incredible Robert Downey Jr.

Dude… we’re so not worthy.