There’s no better way to gain legitimacy in the realm of being considered a “serious actor” than becoming minted with Oscar recognition. The Oscars track record of vastly preferring dramatic work over comedic work speaks for itself, and one actor who benefited from that preference wasRobert Downey Jr.At a point in his career when he was still better known for his portrayals of bratty teens and promising upstarts, he boosted his prospects by being cast as cinema legendCharles Chaplinin the biopicChaplin. That’s a daunting role that could scare off almost any actor, let alone someone who was known at the time for his reputation offscreen than on. But Downey Jr. took up the challenge, and it became a career highlight that paved the way for his more varied future endeavors.
‘Chaplin’ Sought to Explore the Life of Charlie Chaplin
Chaplinis as traditional a biopic as you could expect, seeking to cover the entirety of his life. From his poor upbringing in Britain all the way up to hisiconic Honorary Oscar acceptance in 1971, the film crams as many different aspects of Chaplin’s life as possible but leaving none of them satisfyingly covered. DirectorRichard Attenboroughmay be forever remembered for makingone of the greatest biopics of all time withGandhi, but his approach to that film doesn’t work here.It takes Chaplin’s genius for grantedand doesn’t investigate where any of his skill or ingenuity came from. Worse still, the film seemed far more interested in Chaplin’s flaws than his filmmaking ventures, largely eschewing any attempt at making anybody close to him interesting as their own people, despite the efforts of well-cast actors likePaul Rhysas his brother Sydney andDiane Laneas Paulette Goddard, one of Chaplin’s four wives. While it’s refreshing to see a biopic go in the exact opposite of the hagiographical impulse that the genre tends to drift into. The movie’s direction eventually begin to feel tactless wallowing in those aspects while barely explaining why Chaplin was so important to the film industry at all, leaving the audience wondering “why would anyone want to make a film about this person?”
However, if you focus on just Robert Downey Jr.’s elevated performance, and you go “oh, that’s why.” While it does feel like the choppy script holds Downey back from being as dynamic as he could be, he still manages to capture the effervescent spirit that permeated Chaplin’s art and real life philosophy, not to mention being an almost spitting image of him, minus the bright blue eyes.Chaplin was an outsized personality, hungry for all that a successful career in movies could give him, paired with a deep need for control over all aspects of his life, which Downey Jr. captures beautifully. The film may skimp out on getting into the nitty-gritty of how Chaplin made money or movies, but Downey,in one of his best movie roles, sells us on how much of a tunnel-visioned shark Chaplin could be when it came to getting things done his way. That shark-like nature is always reflected in his eyes, laser focused with desire for numerous avenues, all at the cost of the people around him. He’s imbued with a puffed-up self-importance that speaks to an underlying belief that he deserves all the accolades and praise that come his way, though the film can’t precisely say where that drive comes from. We may rarely get the chance to actually see Chaplin in his element and creating some of his finest work, butwe can feel the arrogant commitment and egomaniacal drive radiating from Downey when he’s on a set.
Robert Downey Jr.’s Nailed Charlie Chaplin’s Mannerisms Perfectly
Doing vaudevillian comedy is no joke, as it requires a Herculean amount of physical command of your body to successfully pull it off. Not just anyone can seemingly throw their body in any number of careless directions and stunts while maintaining discipline and rhythm to remain perfectly on your marks. Save only for hissilent comedy peerBuster Keaton, no performer made vaudevillian style entertainment more widely seen and appreciated than Charlie Chaplin. Often considered the first true superstar of cinema, able to brand himself off of his Little Tramp persona that carried him all the way throughthe duration of his career up untilThe Great Dictator, Chaplin’s genius lied in his ability to take the pain and sorrow he experienced in his life and filter it through his romantic wish-fulfillment as presented on film.The Little Tramp could be many different aspects of Chaplin rolled into one person: a rambunctious scamp with a devilish grin, an innocent soul looking for a home with puppy dog eyes, a rebel who thumbs his nose at buffoonish authority figures. These are all archetypes that fit Robert Downey Jr. flawlessly, each speaking both to various roles that he had already played in his career, but also to the ways in which he had interacted with the world in his own life.
As it pertains to his capturing Chaplin’s actual moves, Downey does an at times miraculous job recreating the Tramp in all of his various eccentricities. It’s difficult enough just to nail his basic moves, given they range from pratfalls to somersaults to effortlessly waddling with his feet poking out sideways. What’s infinitely harder, and therefore more impressive to behold, is the wayDowney Jr. ties all the moves together with the frenetic wooziness that makes the Tramp seem like he’s flying by the seat of his pants.It stands to reason, then, that one of the best displays of Downey’s own genius is actually when he does an entire vaudeville act devoted to being stage drunk, making his audience laugh by dipping and bobbing in every direction, barely even able to hold a cigarette near his mouth. Capping off with a backwards tumble and dismount that’s reminiscent ofGene Wilder’s infamous entranceinWilly Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It’s a stark reminder that Downey has been hiding the limberness of a dancer for his entire career, which helps to capture a performer as rhythmically gifted as Charlie Chaplin.
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Even smaller moments, like recreating Chaplin’s famous bread dance fromThe Gold Rushor daintily waving his fingers to make a baby girl smile, exhibit the contradictory impulses of Chaplin on display for all to see: his pervasive need to control his audience in tandem with the childish joviality with which he pursued that control. Even when he’s an old man and dictating his autobiography as a framing device, that controlling nature shines through the impressive makeup used on Downey, as he holds his ghostwriter (Anthony Hopkins) in his spell, proving that the magician never lost his spark.
‘Chaplin’ Paved the Way For Some of RDJ’s Best Performances
While the initial glow of the acclaim and the accolades must have been nice, what was more vital for Downey’s career was that it became a huge fork in the road. It set him on the path that he would eventually go down where he’d take on more emotionally intense work that would challenge him in new ways. On the one hand, it proved to him that he could take on both “serious roles”, like inShort CutsorHome For the Holidays, getting to tap into both sensitive and prickly characterizations. On the other hand, it proved he could do comedic roles that still had an underpinning of honest vulnerability to them, like inWonder BoysandA Scanner Darkly.
Best of all, in what’s arguably one of the best and most daring performances of his career, is when he found the sweet spot of finding comedy gold by being sodelusionally bought in withTropic Thunder. It is made all the better to savor knowing it will truly never be allowed to be duplicated again. While it might seem like Robert Downey Jr.was typecast by relying on being a whipsmart jerk who bulldozes you with charm, don’t get it twisted: he has always had more than enough tools in his toolbox to get the job done. It just took the right kinds of opportunities to come around andoffer him those jobs.
Chaplinis available to stream on Prime Video.
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