Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind

He will be deeply missed. Millions of souls were touched and entertained by him. He was like a thunder on stage, saying joke after joke in a flawless way. Rest in peace.

It's an HBO documentary special on late great comedian Robin Williams. It tackles his humor, his family, his addictions, and his sobriety. It doesn't shy away from the addictions but his comedy does lighten the hit. It isn't the darkness of reality but it is how he dealt with it. The most fascinating is after Awakenings when he starts diving into mental illness. No one can truly get inside his manic mind but it gives us a glimpse. As a bio, it hits all the landmarks. It isn't going inside his mind as advertised. It is a witness to his journey and that is the best that one can hope for. One thing is for sure. No one can ever really play him in a biopic. Not only is his an original. No one can hope to copy him.

Over four years ago now the world and in-turn the film/entertainment industry lost one of its brightest stars Robin Williams, it was a dimming of a light that will never be truly replaced, such was the skill and charisma that the beloved comedian and actor brought to his life.

A maniacal presence that seemed to always be operating at a different level to the rest of us, a mind full of ideas, complexities and wisdoms, Williams was a hard figure to pin down exactly, as you were often unsure if what you were seeing was the whole picture, but documentary filmmaker Marina Zenovich looks to examine this aspect in her fascinating and wonderfully put together HBO feature Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind.

Not a typical documentary experience, as Zenovich crafts much of the film around Williams various interviews and musings as well as interviews with his loved ones and those that worked with him, Mind acts as both a heartfelt tribute to the esteemed performer and a sombre and honest representation of a man that had many demons over his career and battled (often outside of public knowledge) many an issue, that somehow never managed to deter Williams from bringing so much fun and entertainment to so many.

Mind is the type of experience that only enhances the legacy of Williams, who rose from unknown street comedian to TV alien, through to an Oscar winning actor, as we are taken through memory lane from Williams early days through to his more sombre and quiet end times, an actor and thinker trying to come to terms with life and what lays before him.

It's an affectionate undertaking, filled with rare and perhaps otherwise unseen private photographs and home videos and is filled with recognisable participants such as Williams long term friend Billy Crystal, Mork and Mindy co-star Pam Dawber and family members such as one-time wife Valerie Velardi (who battled with Williams previously non-public infidelity) and son Zak Williams, who all talk frankly and openly about their dear friend and family member.

Mind also wisely doesn't just examine Williams with rose-tinted glasses, as we are made very much aware of a man that whilst filled with goodness and kindness, was as flawed and filled with foibles as all of us, giving us a true all round picture of the man behind the icon.

Final Say -

A must-see for both ardent fans and more casual consumers of Williams life and work, Come Inside My Mind is an insightful look into the life and times of one of the all-time great entertainers, taken from us far too soon.

4 phone messages out of 5

I watch this documentary with a heavy heart. You never get to see the struggles that some actors have had to go until they retire or die. Watching this shortly after he would have celebrated his 67th birthday, it is difficult to put all that content and that much energy in an HBO special in just under 2 hours, but they manage to do so. When you watch this, it will leave you nothing short of wanting to binge watch everything Robin Williams has touched. Growing up to most of his movies, in the peak of his time, brings me back to my childhood. I can't remember the amount of times I've seen Mrs. Doubtfire, Aladdin, Good Will Hunting, and probably my favourite, Patch Adams, which I feel is borderline autobiographical, minus the medical aspect. I was really happy being able to see my childhood friend again and I know you will be too. I strongly recommend you watch this if you ever loved Robin Williams. You won't be disappointed.

This is my first Robin Williams documentary and I don't have the benefit of comparison to others. I have stayed away from Robin Williams documentaries because I had seen his late stand up comedy and interviews before and it was hard to watch--just by facial expression, hyper energy and an overwhelming desire to get the audience to laugh, it seemed like Williams has both a self-disdain and a pathological need to please.

HBO's documentary "Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind" confirmed my impression but also made sense of it in probably the most lighthearted, favorable and loving way possible for the topic, with many sentimental but aware interviews with family members and close friends. All appeared to love Robin and to forgive him his need to always have an audience, even if this both freed Robin and debilitated him.

The documentary acknowledges a depression but ultimately regards a late diagnosis of Parkinson's as the clincher, and also a rare brain disease called Lewy dementia. Neither illness really got its fair explanation in this documentary, being mentioned almost in passing. But what Williams had in the last year of his life or may have had in the many years prior is not too much dwelled upon in general, and definitely not in a judgemental way.

The documentary does not attempt to exploit a narrative about the depressed joker, although part of that is readily available. Instead it keeps a distance and gives tribute to the life of an extraordinary man with a much entangled sense of self-worth. The documentary does do a good job in reminding you to care for your soul and to feel worth where it may be lacking, because while laughter is a therapeutic drug it can also be a damaging one to the person who always feels like they have to perform for someone in need of catharsis. "Come Inside My Mind" reminds you to seek your endorphins in other, more sustainable ways, while paying respects to a generous but burdnened comedian, who gave the world everything he had.