Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind

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.

Excellent Documentary, he was an awesome person, the only thing negative i have to say about the filming is the music in the background seemed to over take his words i had to really listen to hear him over it

Recently, I've noticed a particular pattern that HBO Documentaries tends to use for their productions: They aren't afraid to tackle an already-covered subject (like Andre the Giant or Robin Williams), and along with hitting all the important beats they somehow uncover new footage and conduct really impressive interviews.

This is exactly what happens in "Come Inside My Mind". Since his death in 2014 (and probably even before), Robin Williams has been the subject of many a documentary piece. This one covers maybe 70% of the same ground, but that other 30% is the key. In "Come Inside My Mind", I saw footage of both him and his work that I had never seen before. The interviews with his contemporaries are also riveting and seem to add new perspective rather than hit the same old beats.

The bottom line here is that it is tough to make a really good, original Robin Williams documentary these days, but HBO pretty much manages to nail it here. While a scene or two here or there might feel a bit derivative, for the most part this is a very well-produced look at Williams both in front of and behind the cameras.

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.

You'll laugh and you'll cry. Such a Powerful documentary. Many people in the entertainment industry have come and gone but this is by far the Toughest. :(