In this plethora of content and talent hubs working in it. Many actors inspire the new generation in the blink of an eye. But earlier, some actors have not only inspired a generation but a couple more too. Some movies are meant to be watched repeatedly for sheer brilliance. And some movies are just called out as the master example for a particular genre. Actor Tim Robbins is a kind of actor who has been part of such charismatic movies, which is afloat when it comes to the debate of critical acclaim.
The acclaim from the Academy Award and the Golden Globes is the most precious appreciation one actor can get, and he has grabbed them with open arms. His filmography is beautifully poised with commercial movies. And some movies are more on the crafty side. When it comes to; the Top 10 Best movies of Tim Robbins, few names could fill up the first five or six ranks, but there are a few which are hugely underrated too.
Tim Robbins is an American Actor, filmmaker, and musician. Born on 16th October 1958. His upbringing was based in California USA. But moved to Greenwich Village, Manhattan, with his family for the ease of his dad’s musical career. They were a family of six, mother was a musician and actor, the father was a musician, two sisters, and a brother who was a composer. A family which had the artsy genes running all through. Tim Robbins is a graduate of UCLA Film School and studied Bachelor of Arts in Drama. Hence, whatever we witness on screen is from a well-taught and well-read artist of the craft. This is always proven through his groundbreaking movies.
10. The Sure Thing (1986)
The Sure Thing is a 1985 flick that was written into Tim Robbins’s filmography in the initial days. The movie was helmed by John Cusack, who happens to be Tim’s long-time friend. The movie is about Walter Gibson, who travels across the world and empowers on a journey to find the ideal romantic partner with his best friend Alison Bradbury, played by Daphne Zuniga. This flick introduces Tim’s character amidst the journey in the movie. His character was showcased as Gary Cooper, a passer-into the journey who picked the duo in the middle of their journey to help them reach their destination. The role was the fun-loving short part that described the comic timing of Robbins into the industry.
9. Bull Durham (1988)
Arguably Bull Durham is called out as one of the greatest sports-drama films of all time. The movie is said to put Tim Robbins on the radar of big-shot directors and producers. The movie was about a second-tier league team Durham Bulls, in North Carolina. The team appoints a frantic and not-so-easy to go coach Davis played by Kevin Costner. And Tim Robbins played the crucial new pitcher Ebby Calvin. The to and fro between both the characters are the highlights of the movie. Especially when both the characters are shown to be involved romantically with the same woman. That becomes a critical twist in the plot of the movie. Tim’s character was is shown to be feisty and raw, which was portrayed beautifully and passionately by a fairly young Robbins.
8. Shortcuts (1993)
Shortcuts are one of those off-beat flicks which showcase a plethora of short stories. The story is primarily based or rather adapted from short stories and poems of American writer Raymond Carver. The movie is an ensemble and consists of whopping 22 characters and their short and quirky stints of life. This could arguably be called off as a ‘Slice of Life’ movie, long before it was considered a subgenre for the industry. Tim Robbin’s character was a cop who inevitably cheats on his wife and bargains the moments with some minutely carved stories of his own to cloak his ‘mischief’ with his mistress, who is played by Francis McDormand. Hence, his story grabbed a lot of attention to his acting potential. And made him a capable actor to handle a vastly expanded plot of an ensemble.
7. High Fidelity (2000)
One of the most flamboyant characters played by Tim Robbins was Ray in High Fidelity. The movie reunited two real-life best friends, John Cusack and Tim Robbins, once again. The story of High Fidelity is adapted or based on a Nick Hornby novel that goes by the same title. Considering the quirks of the romantic comedy, the story is about a young man Rob Gordon, a record store owner leading a journey to track down his ex-girlfriends to know himself better and get to the roots of his shattered latest romantic arc.
Robbins plays a flamboyant, fast-talking Ray. Robbins’s character has a short screen time but got a lot of attention. Considering Ray is a person who is toxic and misogynistic and was shown to be dating one of Rob’s ex-girlfriends. Eventually, the characters help each other in unimaginable ways to rectify their faults in reel-life.
6. Dark Waters (2019)
This Todd Haynes legal drama stars the ever-reliable Mark Ruffalo along with Tim Robbins. The story of the legal drama is about a young lawyer who finds a loophole in the regular process of taking down DuPont, America’s one of the biggest chemical companies. Young lawyer Robert Bilott issues a legal dispute against DuPont as the company was contaminating Parkersburg, West Virginia with deadly and illegal chemicals. Bilott was shown to be working on this case for 20 years, then he gets dispatched for the case by his firm and senior Tom Terp, played by Tim Robbins.
Tom is the supervising partner in the corporate environmental defense law firm. Tom Terp is a character with layers and shades which jumps across the lines of good and bad. His character is supposed to be the launching pad for Bilott but also acts up as a stuck-up senior to him to make his job difficult.
5. Marjorie Prime (2017)
Marjorie Prime is a beautiful and unique science fiction movie. The movie is about an elderly woman who spends her mid 80’s with her late husband. But the catch here is that the husband is long deceased, she stays with the holographic version of the deceased husband, who is played by Jon Hamm. Marjorie is played by Lois Smith, Geena Davis plays Marjorie’s daughter Tess, and Tim Robbins plays Jon. The twist in the tale being Marjorie is also in the web of a terrible disease which allows her to believe the hologram is true. The disease is Alzheimer’s. And the hologram is a part of the service which is bought by her daughter to help her survive mentally with the long-lost love of her life.
4. Bob Roberts (1992)
Bob Roberts is a film written, directed, and acted by Tim Robbins himself. He plays the titular character of the movie. The character has had a trial run in Saturday Night Live before the skit transformed into a feature film. The movie is a straight-up political satire. Focusing on Bob Robert, who stands in the elections to run for US Senate. The satirical flick consisted of the minute details of an election where the media houses are the real focus and are playing a crucial role in the elections. The ins and outs of media houses that steer the elections into victory or loss.
3. The Player (1992)
The Player is said to be one of the highest-rated movies by Tim Robbins. The movie consists of a whopping 60 real-life celebrity cameos. Which is by far the most to date. This mind-boggling flick is about a producer Griffin Mill, who accepts and rejects scripts for his production house. Things go haywire when he receives a death threat from one of the potentially rejected scriptwriters. The Player showcases the toxicity and the lobbying of the entertainment industry. It is also one of the earliest movies which showcased the bad sides of the entertainment industry.
2. Mystic River (2003)
Mystic River is Tim Robbins’s second most celebrated movie in his filmography. The movie is directed by the legend himself Clint Eastwood. Starring Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon, and Tim Robbins. The story is about three friends and their friendship through rough patches of an innate mystery in their hometown. The story takes a turn in the initial stages when Sean Penn’s character loses his daughter to a homicide, which is investigated by Kevin Bacon’s character, and the case directly involves Tim Robbins’s character.
So, Robbins’s character suffers from a dreadful incident that showcases the magnitude of pedophiles back in the days in American suburbs. His character is one of the most powerful and innocent characters ever showcased in a crime thriller movie in the industry. The portrayal by Penn and Bacon was at its peak, but Robbins had his jaws locked on the character and played it to its guts which fetched him the highest rank of appreciation in the industry.
1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Shawshank Redemption is the highest-rated movie available in Tim Robbins’s filmography. The story is adapted from a Stephen King novel, which explores the real-life issues in the life of a man who is imprisoned for the crimes he did not commit. Tim Robbins plays the role of an investment banker who is imprisoned for the murder of his wife and her lover. And is shown to lead a life in prison with an accomplice who works as a smuggler in prison for contraband items.
So, the two lead a story that involves the nitty-gritty of the prison and then eventually living the life of prisoners who lead with utter decency and find solace eventually. The path of redemption showcased in the movie is worth the gaze through its run time. Tim Robbins’s filmography has a lot of cult fan following, but The Shawshank Redemption is on another level of fan following, even in the current times.
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