Sr.

Synopsis

In this tender yet fittingly irreverent portrait of filmmaker Robert Downey, Sr., renowned for his 1969 countercultural comedy Putney Swope, documentarian Chris Smith, together with the subject’s movie-star son, Robert Downey, Jr., conspire to tell the story of this fearless, visionary American director. Both an elegy for the rule-flouting underground icon, who passed away at age 85 last year, and as a testament to his tireless creative spirit, Sr. captures its subjects’ refreshing candor about aging, past struggles with addiction, and the ups and downs of working in Hollywood. Incredibly intimate and poignant, Smith’s film is ultimately an emotional depiction of a father-son bond that remained strong and deeply loving to the end.