'Memories, light the corners of my mind': Remembering Robert Redford

Robert Redford with his Oscar for Best Director for Ordinary People (1980)

For my 15^th birthday, my mum bought me my first ever Robert Redford DVD, Barefoot in the Park (Saks, 1967), and that was me sold on Robert Redford. As someone who gravitates more towards actresses onscreen, I always thought I’d be hard pressed to find an actor whose work and presence onscreen and the stories he told could have the same kind of impact as some of the actresses I loved. But then watching Redford made me eat my words.  

Through Barefoot in the Park, I was introduced first to Redford the comedic actor. His chemistry with Jane Fonda was electric and his comedic timing impeccable as he played the newlywed lawyer Paul, who’s so straight-laced it drives his new wife Corie (Jane Fonda) up the wall. Whenever I think of this film, I think of the scene where Corie accuses Paul of being a “stuffed shirt... before we were married I thought you slept with a tie,” and with no expression on his face, Paul dryly replies “no, just for very formal sleeps.” It’s such an endearing and hilarious performance from Redford that needless to say 15 year old me was hooked on him after watching this film. As any girl with a celebrity crush or obsession (though unusual for it to be someone old enough to be her grandfather) I made a photo of Robert Redford (and Jane Fonda) my lock screen... the modern day equivalent of carrying a photo of your crush in a heart shaped locket.

The beloved photo I had as my lock screen at 15.

As I got older and fed the historical nerd inside of me (as well as the film nerd), I became slightly obsessed and fascinated by the Watergate scandal and Nixon era politics. And who was there waiting to teach me more about it through one of the best investigative journalism films ever made? Robert Redford in All the President’s Men (Pakula, 1976). This opened up a whole new side of the actor for me as I discovered that he was the driving force behind getting this film made. The guy was already attractive, but in learning about how much he respected and understood the power films had in telling the most important stories of our time, and how much he fought to get this film made, just made him infinitely more attractive in my eyes. He had always been ahead of the curve, his finger on the pulse of what it was the world needed to see. 

Redford as Bob Woodward in All the President's Men.

And then, when I started University, instead of going out partying I would stay in and watch Redford’s films, ticking them off my checklist, endlessly fascinated by the way he could play the outlaw, the lover, the sports athlete, the lawyer, the political candidate, the horse whisperer etc. etc. all so effortlessly. Although the characters he played were all so different, he brought with him this fierce gentility to every one of them that it just made you want to reach out and be hugged by him – even if he was playing the criminal outlaw Sundance.  

Redford could have so easily been satisfied with making a career out of being the Hollywood heart throb, but he wasn't. His devotion to the art of storytelling drove him to break down barriers and open up the world of independent filmmaking, not just for himself, but for generations of others, too. And he always made sure his films said something - they were never void of meaning or an important message and I appreciated that so much.

For some naïve reason I thought that maybe I was a part of only a small group of people who appreciated and loved the work of Robert Redford beyond his Hollywood heart throb status, but since his passing it is evidently clear that that group was pretty much the whole world. The impact of his work, and subsequently of his passing, has been felt everywhere, and it is hard to comprehend the fact that he has gone. But thank God for his legacy, not just of acting and filmmaking but also of his environmental work and political activism that stretches back over 50 years. A perfect example of someone using their talent and platform for good. As I said earlier, he was always ahead of the curve, and I loved and respected him so much (and always will). 

Photographed in 2007.

Farewell and rest easy, Mr. Redford. You truly were a good one.

Anyone who wants to read more about his life and work, I thoroughly recommend the book Robert Redford: The Biography by Michael Feeney Callan. 

Disclaimer: Images are not my own.