The Dean of Cinema

A Modern Day Tale About The Search For Love, Sanity, Ethel Merman And The Holy Grail. Two troubled men face their terrible destinies and events of their past as they join together on a mission to find the Holy Grail and thus to save themselves.

Written by Dean Zarbaugh II

Terry Gilliam’s powerful and emotional film about redemption, love, forgiveness and healing is the perfect entry into Gilliam’s illustrious filmography for those unfamiliar with his historic work with Monty Python or the numerous classics that he’s directed like Time Bandits, Brazil, 12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and more. The film features career defining performances from Jeff Bridges, Robin Williams and Mercedes Ruehl. It’s a must a must see film for any fans of Robin Williams and his more dramatic turns.

I enjoyed the film immensely. It is a raw, tender, emotional look at tragedy and how we overcome it. Is there room in society for forgiveness? We’ve all said or done things in the moment that we later regret. Should we be judged on those things forever, or are we able to overcome our mistakes and move forward with our lives? Or will they constantly haunt us, holding us back from a future we’ve worked day and night to achieve?

The script from Richard LaGravenese explores all of this and much more. It is a moving story, filled with characters that feel human and not the facsimile versions of them that Hollywood likes to spit out. You truly empathize with the characters, and want the best possible outcome for them. Their journey is fraught with challenges and obstacles, as they navigate their way through their painful pasts. It examines arrogance and hubris in equal measure, with Jack’s say-anything-consequences-be-damned attitude as the brash, cocky, and vain disc jockey that he is. It’s also a study on trauma, and the physical, psychological and emotional toll it takes on people who experience it firsthand. LaGravenese winds these themes together into a beautiful story for the ages.

Jack Lucas had it all. A great career, home, and everything he wanted in life. That’s all taken away from him after one mistake. One night, as he’s drunkenly stumbling around the city late at night he talks to a toy soldier about Nietzsche’s philosophy regarding people: there are those who are born to succeed, and there is everyone else. “He called us ‘the bungled and the botched.’ We get teased. We sometimes get close to greatness, but we never get there.” That rant hit fucking home for me. I don’t subscribe to Nietzsche at all, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t relate to Jack’s rambling when I’m particularly down on myself. I’ve come close to reaching my dreams a couple of times, once after pursuing standup for five years in LA, and another time after working on a script for a passion project that was ultimately dropped at the one yard line. It’s a tough pill to swallow that I’ll likely never achieve my dreams, and there are days where I feel like I’m taking valuable resources from the people who can actually accomplish things with their lives. Unlike Nietzsche, who believed these people deserved to be culled from the herd for the greater good, I think that we all have a greater purpose, but the cards are heavily stacked against most of us. There’s a saying that “we all have the same 24 hours in a day,” but that’s bullshit. The 1% and millionaires have drivers, staff and help to free themselves up to work on furthering their pursuits. The rest of us have to commute to work and do our chores ourselves, depriving us of time with our endeavors.

Robin Williams gives an all-time performance as Parry, a homeless man on a quest to find The Holy Grail. Williams was always fantastic in his comedic performances and will likely be remembered more for roles like the Genie in Aladdin, Prof. Phillip Brainard in Flubber, or Daniel Hillard/Mrs. Doubtfire in Mrs. Doubtfire, but his Juilliard training really shined through in roles like this, Awakenings, Good Will Hunting, and What Dreams May Come. While there are some genuinely funny moments from Williams as Parry, he brings a tender nature to the character that most actors couldn’t even dream of doing. He’s able to convey a lot without saying a word, letting his eyes do the talking for him. He’s expresses heartache, love, and kindness with a mere look. His ability to vacillate between comedy and drama at the drop of a hat is sheer delight to watch.

Jeff Bridges as Jack Lucas might be one of my favorite performances of his that’s not The Dude. Lucas is arrogant, pompous, and closed off to everyone around him. When he meets Parry, that all changes. The transformation that Lucas goes through in the film is a thing of beauty that only someone like Bridges could pull off. The man without a heart begins to grow one. Bridges is in an elite tier of actors and roles like Jack Lucas in The Fisher King are a large reason why. And no, that’s not just, like, my opinion, man. Jeff Bridges is an American treasure and a delight to watch on screen in any role.

The performance to beat in this film comes from Mercedes Ruehl, who gives truly one of the most raw, honest, and emotional performances captured on film as Anne, who finds herself dating Jack Lucas in the aftermath of his ordeal. She loves him and wants him to move forward with his life, not just for her, but for himself. A “tour-de-force” gets tossed around all Willy-Nilly these days, but Ruehl lives up to the hype. It’s taken me a few days to succinctly organize my thoughts about The Fisher King, and the performances therein, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Ruehl’s Anne. The scene where she asks Jack if he loves her and he so arrogantly says “I don’t know,” her reaction is so genuine.

Jack Lucas: I just said I needed time

Anne Napolitano: bullshit. If you’re gonna hurt me, hurt me now. Not some long, drawn out hurt that takes months of my life because you don’t have the balls!

Jack Lucas: I’ll pack my things tonight.

Anne Napolitano: what have you been doing here? Huh? Can you tell me that?

Jack Lucas: We both got something out of this.

Anne Napolitano: WHAT!? WHAT DID I GET? WHAT DID I GET that I couldn’t have got any day of the week from a guy on the street with NO name? Do you think your company is such a treat?

Direct. To the point. And she’s right. What Jack was doing was cruel, trying to keep her at arm’s length on the off-chance his comeback falters. Typical of men of his ilk who view and treat women as objects and not human beings. It’s refreshing to hear this behavior called out by male writers like Richard LaGravenese, rather than white-washing it as “just who they are.” I became familiar with Ruehl from her guest appearance as Detective Goochberg on Psych where she plays off Timothy Omundson’s Detective Lassiter to maximum laughs. Apparently, she was mere inches away from becoming a cast member on Saturday Night Live at one point. Her range is phenomenal and she doesn’t get brought up enough in greatest performance conversations.

Terry Gilliam brings his trademark style to 1990s New York City. He is an excellent director who knows instinctively where to put the camera and how to frame the image. It’s beautiful looking film thanks to the teamwork of cinematographer Roger Pratt who lensed Gilliam’s Brazil as well as the original Michael Keaton Batman flick. While The Fisher King doesn’t feature any of that dark, gloomy and shadowy Gotham City, it does paint a vivid picture of life in New York at that time. Gilliam and Pratt’s use of the camera to capture how trapped or weak the characters feel is top tier. There’s many sequences like Jack in the studio where it’s filmed as if he’s imprisoned in this studio, forced to go on air as punishment for some unseen crime. Or the sequences when Parry sees the Red Knight galloping towards him in fire and brimstone when confronted about reality. These are powerful segments that Gilliam and company use to great effect.

Gilliam is truly gifted behind the camera, and is able to extract memorable performances from his actors. Combined with Roger Pratt’s beautiful cinematography, it’s a recipe for success. The Fisher King is a must see.

GRADE: A