fromthemouthofmoi

Over the last few years when I have had occasion to watch some tidbit with Robin Williams in it, I was always struck by something I couldn't quite put my finger on. In his early days, when he 'turned on' that manic, free flowing word association of comedy, he was young and it all seemed like a grand ride he was taking us on. He was like watching an adorable Tasmanian Devil, the kind from cartoons. Then like many great comedians, he was able to tap into something else and gave us heartbreaking and sometimes painful characters that seemed to ache inside for things intangible. While not considered his best films I think his performance in One Hour Photo and Final Cut showed us perhaps some of the demons Mr. Williams may have been dealing with. These two characters are extremely troubled, isolated, and down right depressed. Characters which I thought more interesting to watch than those purporting genuine happiness or which used his trademark mania. Williams' characters