Boulevard

"Sometimes it's nice to be somewhere else." Nolan (Williams) has a great wife and a huge promotion coming at his job. He has everything going for him, but he has been keeping a secret from everyone his whole life. When he meets Leo (Aguire) he finally finds a way to be himself, but he still struggles with revealing himself. There are some movies that are made better by casting choices. There are some things that a person is the perfect choice for and you can't imagine watching it without them (Gandolfini in the Sopranos). This movie is the rare combination of those plus real world events that makes the movie actually transcend the screen and makes it feel more real and it has that much more of an impact. In this movie Robin Williams plays a character that struggle with something that he has to keep hidden from everyone while trying to be who they want him to be. The fact that he himself was trying to hide depression from everyone while trying to still be "Robin Williams" really adds an extra dimension to the character and makes the movie all the more emotional. The movie itself if just OK, but the real world events are really what makes this a movie to watch. Overall, very poetic that this is the final live action Robin Williams movie. It is almost his way of telling us how he was dealing with his problems. For that reason I recommend this. I give this a B+.

This film tells the story of a seemingly happy sixty year old man, with a decent job and a lovely wife. A random encounter makes him reevaluate his life priorities, and he decides to shred his lies and lives the life he really wants.

As one of Robin Williams' final films, I'm so glad that "Boulevard" shines in just about every aspect, namely Robin Williams' performance, the plot and the brilliant production. The story is subtle but perfectly portrays the complex psychological battle that Nolan goes through. He's a man who is lonely, and yet he seeks attention from the wrong person, as in a person whose love is for rent. The final showdown between Nolan and Joy is very touching, because I feel for both Nolan and Joy.

"Boulevard" tells a very engaging story about a man finally coming to terms with his inner turmoil. I hope more people will have a chance to watch it, because Nolan's story is actually not uncommon in real life.

Boulevard stars the late Robin Williams and is the last on screen acting performance we will ever get to see of the man who changed so many peoples lives through his amazing performances in films. And this performance is no different, it is a different type of role, a very dramatic role and i have to say he has left us with one of the best performances of his long and incredible career. Boulevard may not be a fantastic movie but Robin Williams showed in every scene why he was one of the greatest of his generation. He manages to portray this character who is so kind and giving but at the same time conflicted with feelings that he holds to himself so amazingly that you cannot look away from the screen. And with such a small cast he shines as he carries the film from start to finish making you feel so many different emotions at the same time for this incredibly fascinating character. The small supporting cast were all great and all contributed to really understanding Robin's character and why he acts the way he does throughout the film. I speak a lot about Robin's performance when talking about this film because it really is the best thing about the movie and apart from a few other aspects the movie wasn't as fantastic as it could have been.

Another thing i thought was so incredibly interesting about this movie is that it deals with many different themes and ideas that you don't see often in mainstream movies. It highlights certain topics in American society and although it isn't the most accurate representation of these topics it does it's best not to sugarcoat what is happening and that really helped staying engaged in the film. The movie also takes on a very, very slow pace and i understand that the movie needed to have this pace in order to properly share this mans story but without the performance mentioned above driving the film it would not have been nearly as good. The movie has plenty of very slow emotional moments that almost bring you to tears but it also get fairly dark and intense and although the two tones could have been balanced better throughout the film i found myself on the edge of my seat most of the time. The last 10-15 minutes of the movie seemed to fly by and some of what it showed i thought was very relevant to concluding the story but some other things i felt were unjustly concluded, i guess i wanted a little more in the end but it was an alright finale.

In the end, Robin Williams is the reason to watch this movie because not only was it one of his last but it was one of his best and was a truly emotional performance. The film itself was somewhat engaging but a lot of what was wrong with the film was hidden behind Robin's great performance. - 6.5

Nolan Mack (Robin Williams) is a stiff banker married to Joy (Kathy Baker). They seem devoted but he's been a closeted homosexual for all of his adult life. His father is in a nursing home. His best friend Winston (Bob Odenkirk) has a young girlfriend. He is being primed to be the manager of a new bank branch. One night, he cruises a boulevard and runs over male-prostitute Leo. He tries to take care of Leo who is under the thumb of his pimp Eddie.

Robin Williams does a good job. There is a neediness in Nolan that is both off-putting and compelling. The story is almost quaint by today's standard. The problem is that he could come out to everybody and there wouldn't be any damage. Times have basically passed by this movie. Ten years ago, this would be edgy. Today, his homosexuality could actually help in his banking job. It would probably be a relief to Joy to let the secret out into the open and Winston would throw him a party.

I liked this final Robin Williams film mostly because it shows how great an actor he really was. Williams stars as Nolan, a very nice, kind, sweet, unassuming 60 year old gentleman, who happens to be gay, but has kept himself in the closet for 50 years. His performance exudes happy frustration with his very being, making you wonder what really goes on behind the closed doors in his mind and home. How many stories in real life, Williams own included, have shown you seemingly happy people on the outside who, on the inside, can't take life anymore.

Nolan has reached this point by doing what was expected of him. He has worked in the same bank for 25 years. He lives with his wife Joy (Kathy Baker) whom he loves, but they don't do much other than have dinner and brief words. There is no intimacy, it seems they have never shared the same bed - no children. Obviously his wife must have known the truth. It makes me wonder why this issue never came to a flashpoint earlier.

This boring, risk-free life takes a change when Williams decides to chat up a male prostitute Leo (Roberto Aguirre) when he drives home past this known prostitute bridge. Why he chose this kid, it's never clear. Maybe he was thinking he could help this kid, who apparently used drugs, so maybe not a good choice, to lead a nice, happy, openly gay life. It's never clear.

The story goes on, a bit slowly, and Williams has to start building a web of lies to cover his contact with Leo. The consequences you might imagine are inevitable, but the ending offers you hope that, at least for Leo and Joy, perhaps things are working out for the best.

This is not a masterpiece, nor a must-see, but since we know it is William's last performance, you should see this performance that will remind you how great an actor we have lost. Now go out and rent Good Will Hunting or Good Morning Vietnam or Dead Poet's Society!!! Enjoy.