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He was a genius of comedy and at the same time a talented dramatic actor. The soul of the company, a man who lived to entertain others, but he struggled with addictions throughout his life. Marina Zenovich – director of, among others two documents on Roman Polanski – about the film on Robinie Williamsie worked for several years, but the effect final leaves a feeling of inadequacy. It is perhaps impossible to speak of such a complex character in a two-hour narrative
We know him mainly through archival recordings and family and friend statements (especially Billy Crystal Steve's Martina Eric Idle and Pam Dawber actresses of the series & # 39; Mork & Mindy & # 39, who starts a great comic career, sometimes only fragments intertwined with interviews with the actor.Film Fragments, Meetings, Hollywood Events, some private photos.A mosaic that forms a portrait that l & # 39; we know pretty well.There is no shortage of surprising information – like the one that the extraterrestrial Mork appeared on TV to at least enjoy the popularity " Star Wars " – but they rarely go beyond the anecdote. people and relationships only from what, as the title suggests, has arrived in the hero's head.
The greatest strength of the film Zenovich is that he devotes much space to the early days of Williams' career as a stand-up artist and stage performer. Fragments of archive recordings – it does not hurt that some of them are of very poor quality, they have probably been read from old VHS cassettes and other media that are resisting badly with the test of time – show that before going on television and in the cinema, sense of humor, reacting to the mood of the public and intentionally breaking all the taboos. Just watch a few dozen seconds of the show "Waiting for Godot", in which Williams played alongside Steve Martin, regretting that you have not seen this live performance.
" You Can not Say on Modern Comics: Here's the Successor of Robin Williams, Because It's Impossible to Be His Disciple ", Judd Apatow to the journalists " Rolling Stone" "after the death of his idol in 2014" He did something unique that can not be repeated. raised the bar very high and made many of us want to become comedians.He always seemed to have fun . "
But that was just a of his masks. Williams lived obsessively. He fell into addictions, which he never completely recovered. After the death of John Belushi [1945900] (overdose of cocaine and heroin in 1982) Williams threw drugs, but replaced them with even higher doses of alcohol. He partied for bankruptcy. When he was not drinking, he was unloading his energy while riding a bike. He traveled dozens of kilometers a day. And even he played additively: a look at his filmography confirms that it is not a rare summer, in which he scored four or five roles only in film productions. To this was added the television and the stage. According to Mark Romanek (director of the movie " Photo in an Hour ") and Billy Crystal, Williams was also addicted to making people laugh. He needed an audience, even a few people. The laughter of others was a drug for him.
His television and film career is so closely associated with the range of successes, awards and major roles that it is easy to overlook unsuccessful choices and artistic failures. Especially at the end of his career, Williams has starred in many movies that are best forgotten. He was looking for a chance for a reflection in a sitcom " Overrated ", and the decision to take it off the air after the first season would have been very difficult. He struggled with the relapse of alcoholism shortly after he was diagnosed with an early stage of Parkinson's (the autopsy showed that it was a problem). 39, another illness that could have contributed to cognitive impairment and, consequently, suicidal death of the actor).
Jake Nevin, writing in the "Guardian" about the film Zenovich, quoted the scene of the meeting after the documentary show at the Karlovy Vary festival. When one of the viewers asked her if she had a chance to meet Robin Williams, the director remembered that she had been in one of the scenes of "Fisher King" in which the actor was also involved. This is probably a good metaphor for his film, which is an encounter – sometimes fascinating – with an actor, but not necessarily an attempt to understand his trauma, his complexes and his fears. The original subtitle of the movie – "Come in my mind" – eventually turns out to be only a quote from a Williams scene sketch.
Jakub Demiańczuk
"Robin Williams: In my head", dir. Marina Zenovich, premiere: HBO, Tuesday August 17, at 18.10
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