The massive cast of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is a who’s who of brilliant actors. From the lead performance by Cillian Murphy to Florence Pugh’s brief turn as Jean Tatlock, everyone in the film is bringing it. But one performance, in particular, has stood out for audiences, and it’s about time that this actor is remembered for the talent he has always possessed. I’m talking, of course, about Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss.
Strauss was a tense figure in J. Robert Oppenheimer’s life. The two were often engaged in a battle between dueling egos that resulted in them both losing their status at one point or another. Both Strauss and Oppenheimer willingly shared their pettiness with the world because they each thought that they were right. It started when Oppenheimer and Strauss fought over the Hydrogen Bomb and continued through a hearing where Oppenheimer publicly made fun of Strauss. That fueled Strauss’s own vindictive nature and set him on a path to ruin Oppenheimer, which in turn ruined his own chances of getting into President Eisenhower’s cabinet.
It is a slow build of a performance. At first, hearing the praise for Downey Jr. had me excited but confused since he didn’t have much to do at the start of the movie. However, act three sees the switch in Strauss from a man trying to keep his composure to a man at the end of his rope. You really see the vile energy he is willing to spit in Oppenheimer’s direction and it quickly evolves into a career-best performance from Downey Jr. And that’s saying something, given how great his catalog of work is.
A career-best from Robert Downey Jr.
For me, there are specific Downey Jr. movies you can share with someone to show how good he is. I typically go with Zodiac and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang for a more modern taste of his work before diving into movies like Less Than Zero and Chaplin. Now though, it should all lead to his performance in Oppenheimer. The way Downey Jr. held that subtle fury that existed within Strauss is something that should be examined in every acting class.
It is always wonderful to watch how Downey Jr. tackles a character and yes, he’s made some choices recently that resulted in a lot of people questioning his talent (not me though). Hopefully, this performance in Oppenheimer is the reminder audiences need that Downey Jr. is a force to be reckoned with. I was, for a moment, worried about how Downey Jr. and director Christopher Nolan would work together, given the knowledge that Downey Jr. loves to improvise on set and Nolan famously does not.
Still, they seem to have worked together to bring out a performance in Downey Jr. that I haven’t seen for quite a while, and it was nice to be reminded just how incredible he is as a performer. All this talk of him potentially getting a Best Supporting Actor nod is exciting for someone like me, who thinks he is one of the most dynamic performers out there.
(featured image: Universal Pictures)
