This was Terry Gilliam's first film produced back home in his native USA, perhaps a deliberate move to help further establish himself as a serious film director in his own right, and get away from his image as an interesting offshoot of Monty Python. Gilliam had certainly created his own distinct style with the four films he made in the UK, and they are by no means bad Brazil is an outright masterpiece but with their British-made look, quirky humour, not to mention the odd ex-Python among the cast it was understandable that he would want to move on to a different setting and get out of the Python shadow.
So here we have a Gilliam film written by an American (Richard LaGravenese), set in New York and with a Hollywood cast, but in style and content the same Gilliam touch is very much in evidence. Like Brazil this is a complex story and, like all his previous features (with the exception of the inferior Jabberwocky) it deals with the conflict between imagination and the real world. The screenplay thus puts Gilliam on familiar ground, and gives him free reign to create something weird and wonderful enter homeless vigilantes, a moustachioed cabaret singer and a fire breathing red knight. In spite of all this the bizarreness is just a little more restrained than in previous Gilliam efforts. All for the best perhaps as it allows him to give more weight to story and character.
The plot of The Fisher King is multi-layered and highly original, the best study of guilt and redemption I have seen. While keeping the setting and concerns of present-day America it references Arthurian legend for its story, and any number of classic romance movies for its tone. Gilliam handles this poignant side confidently, as well as introducing that same light, lyrical touch that cropped up in Brazil one scene, in which hundreds of commuters in a station concourse suddenly break into ballroom dancing, is done so smoothly it could almost have been something out of a Vincente Minelli musical.
What really brings The Fisher King to life though is the top-notch cast. Jeff Bridges plays a character clearly based on shock-jock Howard Stern, and brings him through a radical and very moving development. Mercedes Ruehl plays his girlfriend, creating a character who is at once over-the-top and utterly believable, and she deservedly one an Oscar for the part. And then there is the unique Robin Williams as Parry, in one of the best performances of his career, no doubt supplying much of his own dialogue.
The Fisher King is Gilliam's second masterpiece. It may lack the constant creativeness of his earlier works, but there is now a greater emotional depth on display. It's a great balance of tragedy and comedy, with a life-affirming resolution that is a counterpoint to the despair of Brazil.
So here we have a Gilliam film written by an American (Richard LaGravenese), set in New York and with a Hollywood cast, but in style and content the same Gilliam touch is very much in evidence. Like Brazil this is a complex story and, like all his previous features (with the exception of the inferior Jabberwocky) it deals with the conflict between imagination and the real world. The screenplay thus puts Gilliam on familiar ground, and gives him free reign to create something weird and wonderful enter homeless vigilantes, a moustachioed cabaret singer and a fire breathing red knight. In spite of all this the bizarreness is just a little more restrained than in previous Gilliam efforts. All for the best perhaps as it allows him to give more weight to story and character.
The plot of The Fisher King is multi-layered and highly original, the best study of guilt and redemption I have seen. While keeping the setting and concerns of present-day America it references Arthurian legend for its story, and any number of classic romance movies for its tone. Gilliam handles this poignant side confidently, as well as introducing that same light, lyrical touch that cropped up in Brazil one scene, in which hundreds of commuters in a station concourse suddenly break into ballroom dancing, is done so smoothly it could almost have been something out of a Vincente Minelli musical.
What really brings The Fisher King to life though is the top-notch cast. Jeff Bridges plays a character clearly based on shock-jock Howard Stern, and brings him through a radical and very moving development. Mercedes Ruehl plays his girlfriend, creating a character who is at once over-the-top and utterly believable, and she deservedly one an Oscar for the part. And then there is the unique Robin Williams as Parry, in one of the best performances of his career, no doubt supplying much of his own dialogue.
The Fisher King is Gilliam's second masterpiece. It may lack the constant creativeness of his earlier works, but there is now a greater emotional depth on display. It's a great balance of tragedy and comedy, with a life-affirming resolution that is a counterpoint to the despair of Brazil.