Robert Downey Jr.

As Lewis Strauss, Robert Downey Jr. plays a man who notices every slight and keeps the hurt to himself. The familiar charm is gone; Christopher Nolan gives him no need to win us over. We found him unsettling in Oppenheimer (2023), because that careful manner makes his wounded pride harder to dismiss. It is a fine supporting performance, and a persuasive reason to seek out Downey beyond the fast talk. He can hold our attention without making himself agreeable.

The earlier work already suggests an actor with more to offer than verbal speed. Chaplin (1992) called on his physical mimicry as well as his dramatic skills; in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers (1994), he plays the sensationalist journalist Wayne Gale. Stone's film has committed performances and restless editing, but its media satire keeps making the same point. We would recommend it only with that warning: the effort on screen does not make the repetition less tiring.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) made good use of his charm and comic timing as Harry Lockhart, ahead of Iron Man (2008) and Tony Stark. The latter began the long stretch of franchise work that made the quip-heavy leading man his most familiar form. His gift is to make verbal confidence coexist with vulnerability, so the pleasure is not simply in hearing another clever line. We like that version of Downey; it would be foolish to demand solemnity from someone with such comic gifts.

Nolan also has Cillian Murphy carry Oppenheimer without raising his voice, so Downey's restraint belongs in a film that makes room for quiet acting. The hearings grip less than the desert passages, a reservation that survives our admiration for Downey's work. We would welcome more supporting parts that ask him to leave the charm alone, provided they give him someone this specific to play. Start with Oppenheimer if the quips have worn you out.