Final week, I used to be reminded of The Fisher King, starring Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges and Mercedes Ruehl. I used to be impressed to lease the film with my Prime Video subscription and watch it for the primary time since I first noticed it in theaters in 1991, and I’m actually glad I did. I’ve all the time had fond recollections of it, and never solely do I nonetheless love the film, however I’ve an all-new appreciation for Robin Williams’ efficiency in it. I believe it’s arguably Williams’ greatest position of his profession.
The Fisher King Is A Traditional Instance Of The Hero’s Quest
When you don’t keep in mind The Fisher King (or haven’t seen it), the film is a few New York Metropolis radio shock-jock named Jack Lucas, performed by Bridges, who inadvertently conjures up a mass capturing and retreats from the general public, ashamed and disillusioned by his actions. Williams, whose loss all of us nonetheless really feel, performs a person whose spouse was murdered by the shooter and has misplaced all grip on actuality within the aftermath. A seemingly random assembly brings the 2 collectively after Williams’ character, Parry, saves Jack from some would-be muggers.
From there, the story performs out with a heavy dose of magical realism, as one would anticipate from any film directed by the good Terry Gilliam. Parry is a damaged man, residing on the streets and caught in an alternate actuality of his personal making to assist him neglect the tragic occasions that led to the demise of his beloved spouse.
He believes himself to be a knight in medieval occasions, attempting to earn the love of a girl (Amanda Plummer) he solely sees throughout her commute to and from a practice station. To earn her love, he should retrieve the Holy Grail (a enjoyable callback to Gilliam’s time with Monty Python) from a “fortress” close to Central Park in Manhattan… at the very least, in his personal thoughts.
Williams Brings Each Ounce Of His Immense Expertise To The Film
Parry’s psychological breakdown provides Robin Williams a lot to work with. He’s manically humorous, as Williams was so good at being, however he additionally has that damaged aspect, which Williams was a grasp at tapping into. Parry must be tender at occasions, as a result of as a chivalrous knight on a quest, he helps as many individuals as he can, together with and particularly Jack. The position attracts on all these skills that Williams possessed, and I can’t think about every other actor with the ability to pull it off practically in addition to the late Williams does within the movie.
Enjoying the excessive factors and the low factors of a person in deep manic melancholy is daunting for any actor, however Williams pulls it off so effectively right here, you virtually neglect the actor utterly. That’s, till he strips bare in Central Park and runs across the park within the buff… a really bushy buff, at that. I’m hard-pressed to think about one other film the place Williams goes backwards and forwards so rapidly between comedy and tragedy. It’s a really sensible efficiency.
As a viewer, I felt every little thing Parry feels, the humor and the ache, so viscerally. It explains why I by no means revisited the film, regardless of being blown away by it the primary time I noticed all of it these a long time in the past. It was a kind of motion pictures that you just love, however don’t assume you may watch greater than as soon as. Properly, now I’ve seen it twice and I’m certain glad I’ve.