The Sundance Film Festival welcomed troubled actor Robert Downey Jr this weekend when his new film, The Singing Detective, premiered at the annual event in Utah.
The 37-year-old, one of many top names flooding into the ski resort of Park City for the latest in independent film, spoke about the effect his time in prison and drug rehabilitation have had on his public persona. "I'm a little older. I'm mildly wiser," he said. "My frequent appearances on Court TV have brought me to another level than just always 'the acting guy' ... I think I've become very, I don't want to say real, but I'm very tangible to people ... because of my fallibility."
The Singing Detective, in which he co-stars with Robin Wright Penn, Katie Holmes and Mel Gibson, is his first major production since he finished rehab last July. The man once described by Robert Altman as "the best actor alive" spent a year in prison after being caught in possession of cocaine in 1999.
In the film, which is a screen adaptation of the well-known Dennis Potter play, he plays a paralysed writer who dreams of being a streetwise detective.
While Robert was definitely centre-stage at the festival over the weekend, he was not the only person drawing attention. Also causing a stir was director Ed Solomon, whose movie Levity has been rapturously received. The grim tale follows the story of a murderer left with only his regret when he emerges from prison and returns home. Andrew Jarecki's first documentary, the stunning and at times horrifying Capturing The Friedmans has also won great acclaim. The film, assembled from home-video footage, brings us the story of a family destroyed by a child-molestation scandal.
The festival – and in particular its founder Robert Redford – also bade a fond farewell to cinematographer Conrad L Hall who died on January 4 at the age of 76. Hall won Oscars for American Beauty (1999) and, of course, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). It is thought he may get the nod a third time, come March, for his work on Sam Mendes' period gangster film Road to Perdition.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
