06/1/2010



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Confession: I have a crush on Sherlock Holmes. Or rather, I have a crush on the man behind Sherlock Holmes, Robert Downey Jr. :). It’s interesting how he interpreted Holmes, an absent-minded and at-times apathetic mastermind, a genius flirting with the borders of insanity. In my childhood imagination, Holmes was always a stoic and mysterious character, a man with his hat drawn over his eyes, calculating facts in the shadows of a crime. Despite the departure from my expectations, I found Downey’s Holmes to be absolutely accessible, mostly because he became the character effortlessly, as if Holmes had always been so. From the inner-monologues to the subtle entreaties for Watson’s company, Downey Jr. gave life to a Sherlock I never knew but suddenly understood. Of course, the dynamic between Holmes and Watson (Jude Law) is equally as engaging, portrayed as a duo in which both men deeply respect each other, but in which Holmes is more dependent on Watson than vice versa, much like a child who needs (and knows he will always have) the presence of a parent. And then there was Rachel McAdams, who (I regret to say) didn’t exactly shine as an ingenious outlaw, and whose American accent felt out-of-place in the distinctly British world. But props to her for playing an intelligent lady who kicks butt in high heels. In conclusion, the movie was grand, but I walked out far more impressed by Downey’s portrayal of Sherlock Holmes than anything else. EW: Robert, you’ve studied Holmes for the movie. Do you feel like you know the guy? Downey No, I still don’t feel that. He’s like Chaplin. The deeper you go into him, the more elusive he is. When you come up against a character so revered, the only thing you can do is sink into it, not even try to swim. That said, when people ask me about Holmes, I’m still able to say, ”Well, actually, you know, he never had a curved pipe.” - an excerpt from an Entertainment Weekly interview Humility in approaching the character - sinking rather than swimming. Brilliant. Can’t wait to watch him as Edgar Allan Poe :).

Confession: I have a crush on Sherlock Holmes. Or rather, I have a crush on the man behind Sherlock Holmes, Robert Downey Jr. :).

It’s interesting how he interpreted Holmes, an absent-minded and at-times apathetic mastermind, a genius flirting with the borders of insanity. In my childhood imagination, Holmes was always a stoic and mysterious character, a man with his hat drawn over his eyes, calculating facts in the shadows of a crime. Despite the departure from my expectations, I found Downey’s Holmes to be absolutely accessible, mostly because he became the character effortlessly, as if Holmes had always been so. From the inner-monologues to the subtle entreaties for Watson’s company, Downey Jr. gave life to a Sherlock I never knew but suddenly understood. Of course, the dynamic between Holmes and Watson (Jude Law) is equally as engaging, portrayed as a duo in which both men deeply respect each other, but in which Holmes is more dependent on Watson than vice versa, much like a child who needs (and knows he will always have) the presence of a parent. And then there was Rachel McAdams, who (I regret to say) didn’t exactly shine as an ingenious outlaw, and whose American accent felt out-of-place in the distinctly British world. But props to her for playing an intelligent lady who kicks butt in high heels. In conclusion, the movie was grand, but I walked out far more impressed by Downey’s portrayal of Sherlock Holmes than anything else.

EW: Robert, you’ve studied Holmes for the movie. Do you feel like you know the guy?
Downey No, I still don’t feel that. He’s like Chaplin. The deeper you go into him, the more elusive he is. When you come up against a character so revered, the only thing you can do is sink into it, not even try to swim. That said, when people ask me about Holmes, I’m still able to say, ”Well, actually, you know, he never had a curved pipe.” - an excerpt from an Entertainment Weekly interview

Humility in approaching the character - sinking rather than swimming. Brilliant. Can’t wait to watch him as Edgar Allan Poe :).