Come Inside My Mind: Robin Williams Laid Bare

Robin Williams' death in August 2014 was devastating news to me. I had not realized what a profound influence this man's work had on my life until the obituaries started pouring in and the number of films I loved that he starred in were named one by one. Jumanji (yes, I know to many this is the silliest one on the list) is a movie I watch any time it is on TV and have loved since I was a child. But when I was older and finally saw Good Will Hunting and Dead Poets Society, those movies broke my heart every time. Mrs. Doubtfire is an absolute classic, natch, and Hook --oh Hook!-- yet another movie I could watch for days. But putting aside the movies, Williams was always fun to watch on a talk show. He would almost never stay still, having to jump out of his chair and start doing impressions or walk into the audience to get the big laugh. He was this big bear of a man, with a boy's smile and twinkly eyes, and I simply could not understand how he could commit suicide. Well, now we have Marina Zenovich's magnificent HBO documentary, Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind, to tell the tale of this man we all loved and help us understand him a little bit better.

To me, the best aspect of this documentary is getting to see Robin Williams, the comedian. I've mostly only known him as an actor and haven't watched his stand-up specials. But after this documentary, I shall have to correct that omission. A proper birth-to-death odyssey, we watch the evolution of this man's life, and what led to his education at Julliard, his comic success, and his visceral joy in making people laugh. It also demonstrates his prodigious intelligence - the movie is chock full of outtakes and behind-the-scenes banter that never made it on screen, and through it all you can see what an extraordinarily quick wit Williams had, and why he was the premier comedian of his day.

But of greater importance is his kindness. His friends talk about how he got immersed in his characters and was never quite able to shed them after the movie had wrapped. After filming The Fisher King, he had renewed sympathy for the plight of homeless men on the street. Awakenings led him to befriend a man with Tourette's, whose struggles with his disease seemed to speak to William's own struggles to contain his rapid mind. He was a firm supporter of the USO, doing multiple tours to bring American armed forces some glee when they were stationed overseas. He founded Comic Relief USA with Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Crystal to raise money for the homeless. But all of this took a toll on his family life. His son speaks with some sadness of how his father was always away, trying to help the world, when sometimes he wishes he was just home with his family. As one of his friends said in the documentary, "he needed that little extra hug you can only get from strangers."

Ultimately, while Williams loved comedy and film, it took too much out of him. The drug and alcohol addiction all sprang from a need to cope with his intensity on stage that diminished the second he stepped out of the spotlight. He struggled and was able to maintain sobriety for many years, only to relapse when things became too overwhelming again. The Parkison's diagnosis was likely the final straw, ravaging his brain and making him increasingly paranoid, leading to his suicide at the age of 63. And when I watch that collection of performances on screen, I can't help wondering how many more brilliant movies we might have gotten if his disease hadn't claimed him so soon.

My favorite part of Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind is watching the switch between Robin the comedian and Robin the man. That generosity of spirit and self-reflecting wisdom that was so often showcased in his dramatic roles was always present behind the scenes when he had gotten all the manic energy out through his gloriously sweaty stand-up specials.  Robin Williams was a man with many facets and this documentary captures the many ways in which he made his mark on the world. There was no one like him, and never will be again.