the robert downey jr film guide

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Eros (2005)

Tags: Supporting Role, Drama, Middlers, Independent, Black and White, Career Trajectory: Making a Comeback, Period Piece,Weirdness, Fails the Bechdel Test, On DVD in Region 1, On DVD in Region 2, Rated R

Summary

Three unrelated stories of love and sexuality. Downey’s segment called Equilibrium is about a stressed out 1950s executive spilling his guts to a pre-occupied psychiatrist.

Director

Steven Soderbergh (other 2 segments: Michelangelo Antonioni, Wong Kar-Wai)

Downey Factor

Stars in one-third of the film.

Character

Nick Penrose, a 1950s advertising executive who’s having erotic dreams.

Looks

Vintage, black and white.

Performance

Breezy.

Love & Sex

Surprisingly none.

Dies, Gay or Villain

No, no, no.

Cast

Alan Arkin, Ele Keats

Time & Place

1950s New York.

Availability

Released in theaters 8 April 2005. On DVD in regions 1 and 2.

Rotten Tomatoes

35% Fresh | 66 Reviews

Critical View

Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post: It’s a nice-looking, well-acted silly movie for smart people; ultimately its only excuse for being, as Soderbergh says in his director’s statement, is that he wanted his name on a poster with Antonioni.

Desson Thomson, The Washington Post: Soderbergh’s Equilibrium is a little too odd to follow or care about.

2 Reasons to See It

1. You can get 2 stamps on your foreign film passport in one movie—Chinese and Italian!
2. Of all the films he’s ever done, this one makes it the easiest to fast forward to his scenes.

Overall

Nothing really holds this movie together and his segment feels more like a skit. Then again, it’s mildly entertaining and not much of a time commitment.

If You Like It

You might also like Good Night & Good Luck (2005), Fur (2006), Mad Men

Photos

Video