First Look: Robert Downey Jr. in Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes
Posted by Neil Miller (neil@filmschoolrejects.com) on December 13, 2008
Like many of you, I read movie news from a wide variety of websites. And often times I see headlines that just blow me away. Today’s mind-boggling headline comes from a good friend of mine, Alex over at FirstShowing.net, who writes “Finally — Official Photos from Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes.” Now, this is not to demean Alex in any way, as his hyper-hyperbolic nature is often a very effective force with his audience, but really? Have we really been anticipating the release of production stills for Sherlock Holmes so much that we are so relieved? We are talking about a film that began principal photography mere months ago, so it’s hard to imagine that everyone was grinding teeth just to see a little bit of Downey on Baker Street.
That said, the photos below–provided to us by the 2009 Warner Bros. preview–do have a striking quality to them. In the first photo we see a bloodied, shirtless Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) in what we can only assume is a boxing arena. The choice to bring this image out so early is to suggest that this will be a brutal film, which should get mixed reaction from Holmes purists. Need I remind you that the Sherlock Holmes stories are detective stories first, action stories second. Guy Ritchie has already spoken of his intention to bring out the tough guy swashbuckler Holmes. This leaves me to hope that while Ritchie’s adaptation will be more exciting, it will also hold on to the intellectual roots of the character.
The second image is a rather vague shot of Holmes chatting with his good friend and accomplice Dr. Watson (Jude Law), meant to give us a peek at the costume design in this period piece. And my, doesn’t Holmes look trendy with those sunglasses…
I kid the director about his choice of hipster glasses for a 19th century detective. Sherlock Holmes always was a self-proclaimed Bohemian, a detective whose personal habits and methods weren’t always what you might expect from a late-1800s British gentleman. And that’s what has made him such an interesting character, he was at times the ultimate symbol of nonconformity. So don’t mistake little jokes for pessimism about the film. I have faith that Guy Ritchie will be able to tap some of the more interesting and exciting layers of Holmes’ character and still make an exciting film with a Coke-injected pace. It will take something more than he’s given us with his past films, such as the continued smoke and mirror complexity of Snatch and RocknRolla, but I’m of the opinion that he can pull it off. That, and Robert Downey Jr. has proven that he can deliver a character that is equal parts noble intellectual and philanderer, a perfect fit for Holmes.
See all of the other relevant details about Sherlock Holmes below, courtesy of Warner Bros’ 2009 movie preview.
SHERLOCK HOLMES
In theatres on November 20
(Warner Bros. Pictures/Village Roadshow Pictures)
Director: Guy Ritchie
Writers: Screenplay by Michael Johnson, Anthony Peckham, Guy Ritchie
Story by Lionel Wigram
Producers: Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey, Dan Lin, Steve Clark-Hall
Executive Producers: Michael Tadross, Bruce Berman
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, Kelly Reilly
Action/Adventure Mystery. In a dynamic new portrayal of Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous characters, “Sherlock Holmes” sends Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson on their latest challenge. Revealing fighting skills as lethal as his legendary intellect, Holmes will battle as never before to bring down a new nemesis and unravel a deadly plot that could destroy the country.
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