You may receive a fee for purchases created through the links.
Robert Downey Jr.’s talent was always obvious, but his appetite for drugs and alcohol made the studio easy to deny his work throughout the first decades of his career. The son of pioneering independent filmmaker Robert Downey (that “Putney Swop” is one of the most cabrous cultural satires you’ve ever seen), Downey Phil, who leapt into neighborhoods like “Strange Science” and “Back to School” of the 1980s before delivering a breakout performance of Redling Julian Wells e Istan Wells.
Downey had a gift. He had it all. He has always been the most exciting guy on screen, but perhaps he’s heard some of his co-stars, but the kids couldn’t help it. Like Eddie Murphy or Robin Williams, you were prepared to laugh every time he stepped into the frame. Unlike those stars, you didn’t know if you could trust him. He might be a bully. He may be CAD. And he may be a murderer.
If Downey could resist the material that nearly destroyed his career, almost destroying him, he would have spent the entire 1990s and slug it mainly in a pro-supporting role. Appearing on “Chaplin” and earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in 1993 would have made him a permanent A-list. But his demon was not done with him.
And two years after he released an extraordinary lead performance in James Tock’s troubled “Two Girls and Men,” Downey found himself playing a child killer in Neil Jordan’s stylish thriller “In a Dream.” The actor was in and out of prisons, rehabilitating, and going straight to prisons, so as far as roles are concerned, he wasn’t really calling his songs. Still, there was good reason to believe that there might be a great advantage in that part. First of all, it was one of the first green lights of DreamWorks SKG. Also, Steven Spielberg was potentially written directly. So, what was wrong?
In a dream, it was a nightmare for Spielberg.
It’s a very interesting book “Smoking in Bed: A Conversation with Bruce Robinson” The fun, thorny screenwriters of “Withnail & I” and “The Killing Fields” (where he won an Academy Award nomination) discussed how Spielberg hired him to write “whether “shining” is not a thriller, but is very correct in the relationship between the characters.” This is because Spielberg is friends with Stanley Kubrick and is obsessed with adapting to filmmaker Stephen King’s novels (until he incorporated it into “The Ready Player 1”).
“In Dreams” was a Primo Hollywood project, but according to Robinson, Spielberg calmed down when it was time to commit to easily creating works in his darkest genre. According to Robinson:
“It’s very heavy, something in his head, or someone like his wife, says, “Look, Steve, you ” et ” et ‘Do you really want to do a movie about a child killer? Your public might be very unhappy with you having a subject like this.” It won’t immediately serve mainstream films. It was a big problem of writing about bloody things. ”
Spielberg eventually handed the project to Jordan. Jordan is an incredible filmmaker who has worked on classics such as “Mona Lisa,” “The Crying Game,” and “The End of Affair.” He also had a huge hit credit as he directed “Interview with the Vampire.” This didn’t take a step back, but Jordan is a tortured, lapsed Catholic who wears religious torment on his sleeves. He made a beautifully-looking film (shooted by master film director Darius Konji), but it’s one big vibe in search of a compelling story. Had Jordan not rewrite Robinson, he could have been reminded of the dark magic of Nicholas Log’s “I won’t see it now.” Instead, he made neither fish and foul studio art flicks.
Downey is very good in the film, but it is primarily an Annette Behning showcase as the mother of a murdered child. And shocked, she urges her assignment. Had Spielberg been making “in a dream,” it would have been shot by Janus Kaminsky, and perhaps lacked the horrifying beauty of Jordanian productions. Spielberg eventually scratched this itch in “Minority Report” in 2002, a year before Downey was clean. They just missed each other, but there’s still time for them to connect.
