Tim Robbins critiques Netflix: A call for cinematic originality

Tim Robbins, known for his role in "The Shawshank Redemption" and as an Oscar winner for "Mystic River," expressed his concern in an interview with "The Guardian" about the direction cinema is heading. He believes that the algorithms determining what viewers watch mainly promote repetitive and unoriginal productions. In this context, he specifically pointed out Netflix.

"You go on Netflix right now, you see what films are coming out and you tell me that that’s the future of cinema?" Robbins said. "We’re in big trouble," the actor added. Criticizing Netflix seems unfortunate, especially since the actor can be seen on another streaming platform.

The actor stars in the science fiction series "Silo" on Apple TV+, and the show, featuring Rebecca Ferguson, recently returned for its second season. Referring to "The Shawshank Redemption," Robbins reminded that the film didn't achieve box office success in 1994 but gained recognition thanks to VHS tapes and television broadcasts.

"That is a beloved movie. It remains on top of IMDb as the most favored movie of all time," he noted. "I know that a quality movie, a quality television show, will last. Whether it’s a hit or not is irrelevant compared to what people are going to think about it in 10, 15, 20 years."

Robbins also admitted that he has been carefully selecting roles since the 2019 film Dark Waters. "The main thing for me, at this stage of my life, is that I don’t want to waste my time on a set doing something frivolous. I don’t want to be there for the sake of being there," he explained. Thus, he drew attention not so much to how content is consumed—now mainly online—but to the quality of the content, primarily targeting productions on Netflix.