Robert Downey Jr.: The Fall and Rise of the Comeback Kid
The 2008 blockbuster Iron Man finally made Robert Downey Jr. a superstar at 43, but just a decade prior he was deeply mired in years of legal troubles, failed relationships, and box-office flops, despite widespread acclaim for his natural-born artistry and a best actor Oscar nomination for 1992’s Chaplin. British journalist Falk meticulously details the turbulence in his unauthorized biography of the actor, who began a harrowing descent into decades of drug addiction after his cult-film director father shared a joint with his young son. In 1999, at arguably his lowest point, Downey told a judge, “It’s like I’ve got a shotgun in my mouth, and my finger’s on the trigger and I like the taste of gun metal,” before being sentenced to three years in state prison (he served nearly a year). Falk obviously has a great deal of respect for his subject, which he weaves throughout this even-handed portrait. Downey’s midcareer comeback is also given fair shrift in this absorbing account of one man’s amazing triumph over his voracious demons. --Chris Keech