The Robert Downey Jr Film Guide
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The Robert Downey Jr Film Guide |
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Gothika (2003) |
Summary |
A criminal psychologist wrestles with a ghostly mystery after being locked up for a murder she doesn't remember committing. |
Direction |
Mathieu Kassovitz |
Downey Factor |
Low to medium. |
Character |
Dr. Peter Graham, a therapist and colleague of Halle Berry |
Looks |
Cute, with a wardrobe that bounces between professional and youthful. I like the glasses, love the hair, but could be more clean-shaven. |
Performance |
Typical Downey (if there is such a thing). He brings a likable charm to a suspicious character. |
Love & Sex |
Has a crush on Halle Berry, but that's it. |
Dies, Gay or Villain |
No, no, no |
Other Actors |
Halle Berry, Penélope Cruz, Charles S. Dutton |
Connection |
John Carroll Lynch in Zodiac |
RDJ Says |
Gothika was like this: go to Montreal, fall in love. Play squash. Tell the person you've fallen in love with that you're in love with them. Have her say 'don't talk to me until we're done shooting.' Play squash. Oh yeah. Shoot the movie ... the script's always changing. [My character] was reduced ... I said I'd do it before I read it. And then I read it, and I enjoyed it. I really did ... [Halle Berry wanted me cast] so in case it sucked, it would be my fault too ... he's like this really left-wing kind of supershrink logistician. Everything is about what he's learned and what he knows, and he's always looking at the landscape with this real objectivity ... I'm so glad that I was sober when [Halle Berry's arm was broken] or everything on earth would be my fault ... It was just a really weird thing because things had been so tense on the set for days before ... things were getting really wild and I was really shaken up and I was nervous that someone was going to get hurt. And I'd been expressing that. So when it happened, I felt two things: A) I was right, and B) what I couldn't have imagined was that it would've been at my hands that it happened, so I don't know how to explain it. It's so difficult to figure out why events occur ... I had some really good theater arts teachers and they always said to have aesthetic distance. If you have a fight scene, you're acting a fight scene. You're not out there really like throwing down because it will look good on the camera and keep things very real. I'm like, let's keep things very manageable and effective. |
Gossip |
As referenced above, 2 things happened: he met Susan Levin (now his wife) and apparently unaware of his own strength, he broke Halle Berry's arm. |
Hot Link |
Official Site |
Release |
November 21, 2003 |
Availability |
Has been released on video and DVD in Region 1 and 2; also on Blu-Ray. Special Edition DVD available in Region 1. |
Foreign Titles |
Argentina: En Compañía del Miedo (In the Company of Fear) |
Rotten Tomatoes |
16% Fresh | 151 Reviews |
Critical View |
Manohla Dargis, Los Angeles Times: How anyone in the cast manages to keep a straight face is one of the film's innumerable mysteries. Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle: Downey Jr. -- no doubt realizing that he's one bomb away from a guest arc on "Scrubs" -- does his best to add some levity. |
2 Reasons to See It |
1. Downey is your Dr. Feelgood. 2. In between figuring out predictable twists, you like to be startled by owls that fly in the day time. |
Overall |
A barely adequate horror film. |
If You Like It |
You might also like In Dreams (1999), Natural Born Killers (1994), carnival haunted houses |
Photos |
Video |