A surplus of Netflix documentaries has been rolling out recently, but this upcoming heartwarming account of the late Robert Downey Sr‘s life is set to be a tear-jerking story told by his son.
With the tagline, “Like Father. Like Son. Like No Other”, the film is not only going to be centered around the father-son duo and the warm relationship shared by the two but is also foremost going to set apart Robert Downey Sr.’s life as his own manifesto. While today’s generation is rather familiar with the trailblazing attitude of the actor who initiated the Marvel chronology with his noteworthy performance as Iron Man, his father, who was himself a free-spirited filmmaker, often gets left behind.
And so, his son has taken it upon himself to paint his father’s portrait for the entire world to appreciate his legacy while further dipping into themes related to family, mortality, and creative expression. Fathers are often role models and heroes for their children, and so RDJ is presenting his side of the story directed by the Emmy nominee Chris Smith as a tribute and gift to his late father, a prominent indie filmmaker who may have left us but will not be forgotten.
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Netflix’s synopsis of the documentary reads:
Robert Downey Jr. pays tribute to his late father in this documentary chronicling the life and eclectic career of pioneering filmmaker Robert Downey Sr.
Sr Trailer Breakdown
RDJ sits down with his parents and discusses how long they’ve been married, and his mother jokingly adds, “fifteen hundred years.” She goes on to mention later that the actor always “had an idea of doing a documentary about his dad and their life together.” While many people know who he is, but they don’t seem to know Sr.
Digging into the black-and-white past, the film takes us back to his “undergrad” years as a filmmaker when there was just one Robert Downey. RDJ then asks one of his kids if they’ve seen any of their grandfather’s movies, and the reply is no, but RDJ emphasizes the fact that “they’re awesome” and are a must-watch. Robert Downey Sr.’s most praiseworthy life’s work includes directing and writing satirical stories like Putney Swope.
The notable filmmaker passed away due to his ailments of Parkinson’s disease in 2021, and so the film pays great attention to the early episodes of his pain, which could never keep his sense of humor at bay, and both the father and son kept bouncing off each other’s energies till the end. United in their passions for creativity and bringing stories to life.
RDJ is seen discussing the documentary and its focus image with his father over phone calls and how early in the day he’s perturbed by the thought of how much time he’s left, so he’d rather focus on the “here and now.” His father is quite vocal about his struggles during the time and candidly swoops us through the duo’s life and heartrending relationship.
Even the actor’s takeaway after all this time is how they endlessly shared laughter, going over their mutual drives for creativity and how his father’s impact truly changed his life forever. Towards the end, he finally breaks down, thinking about the tremendous loss that’s to be broken on their family and how he’ll miss him.
Films brought the duo together, and no matter what the day, they’ll continue to do so. RDJ picks up the title of the film and asks his dad if he likes it or not, and his wit has him say, “we can do better.”
The trailer shifts the view in some bits and depicts RDJ’s own case of substance abuse as well, which otherwise has the two Downeys and the filmmaking family’s “larger than life” demeanor as its highlight, as quoted by the director himself.
Watch the Sr Trailer
Sr, with an ‘R’ rating due to the mentions of drug use, releases on Netflix On December 2, 2022.
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