The late Robin Williams was known throughout his colorful career for playing loud and bombastic characters: Mrs. Doubtfire, Armand Goldman of Birdcage, Mork of Mork and Mindy to name a few. Ironically, Williams' last role on screen before he left us was of a quiet and mild-mannered man in the film Boulevard.
Nolan Mack is a very simple man. He works at a bank and has been married to his wife, Joy, for many years. They have an easy-loving chemistry together, but they sleep in separate rooms. One night when driving home from visiting his father, who is dying in a nursing home, Nolan makes a U-turn onto a street lined with prostitutes. After Nolan almost hits a male prostitute with his car, he offers to give him a ride. From there he begins a journey towards realizing that he needs to be true to himself and live the life he wants.
Williams does some amazingly layered work here as Nolan. Early in the film he says that he has a fear of "hurting people"; this may be the reason he denied his true nature for so long. Williams does a wonderful job in showing you a man desperate to be his true self but blocked by the comfortable life he has built around him. His relationship with Leo, the prostitute, is almost wholly one of emotional affection- they never have sex. Nolan simply wants to care for Leo, as he does his wife and his father. It is only when Nolan realizes that he must live for himself and not only for others that he truly opens up and starts finally being who he really is.
Boulevard, like Nolan, is a quiet and simple film that showcases the wonderful dramatic talents of Robin Williams. It may go down as "Robin's Last Film," but it also sends a message that you are never too old and that it's never too late to live the life you want. To find your happiness.
Thank you Robin, you are and will be forever missed.
Nolan Mack is a very simple man. He works at a bank and has been married to his wife, Joy, for many years. They have an easy-loving chemistry together, but they sleep in separate rooms. One night when driving home from visiting his father, who is dying in a nursing home, Nolan makes a U-turn onto a street lined with prostitutes. After Nolan almost hits a male prostitute with his car, he offers to give him a ride. From there he begins a journey towards realizing that he needs to be true to himself and live the life he wants.
Williams does some amazingly layered work here as Nolan. Early in the film he says that he has a fear of "hurting people"; this may be the reason he denied his true nature for so long. Williams does a wonderful job in showing you a man desperate to be his true self but blocked by the comfortable life he has built around him. His relationship with Leo, the prostitute, is almost wholly one of emotional affection- they never have sex. Nolan simply wants to care for Leo, as he does his wife and his father. It is only when Nolan realizes that he must live for himself and not only for others that he truly opens up and starts finally being who he really is.
Boulevard, like Nolan, is a quiet and simple film that showcases the wonderful dramatic talents of Robin Williams. It may go down as "Robin's Last Film," but it also sends a message that you are never too old and that it's never too late to live the life you want. To find your happiness.
Thank you Robin, you are and will be forever missed.
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