THE FISHER KING
A film review by Ken Johnson
Copyright 1991 Ken Johnson
140 min, R, Drama, 1991
Director: Terry Gilliam
Cast: Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges, Amanda Plummer, Mercedes Ruehl,
Michael Jeter
Normally I would put a brief summary of the film here but the only way I could do that would spoil THE FISHER KING so I decided to skip the summary. Most people have already seen this film but I wanted to put in my opinion anyway.
THE FISHER KING is rated R for explicit language, adult situations, and one very small scene of graphic violence. I give the film a four on a zero to five scale. I highly recommend seeing the film for it is very well done and enjoyable. Although the film looks like it runs for a long time it doesn't seem that long when you're actually watching it.
The reason I went to see this film is because it stars Robin Williams, and I am a fan of Robin Williams' work. The film I saw was quite different than what I had expected from the ads. I was expecting a retelling of the Fisher King and the holy grail story. The movie is not really a retelling of the Fisher King story. It is however a really good film that is definitely worth watching at full price.
Robin Williams puts in one of his best roles yet. His best role in my opinion was in DEAD POETS SOCIETY. His character in THE FISHER KING is quite believable. Williams thinks that he is a knight in a quest to find the holy grail. Williams is able to put humor into this character without ruining the dramatic part of this film. At some points in the film I felt myself wanting to get up and cheer for Robin Williams while other times I felt bad for him.
Jeff Bridges also puts in a great performance. Bridges finds out about Robin Williams and his quest. Because of a past event Bridges feels badly for Williams and tries to make himself Williams protector. This puts a lot of strain on Williams and his girlfriend Ruehl. Jeff Bridges really brings his character to life and, like Robin Williams, really made me feel for his character.
Director Terry Gilliam has done MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL, which was a very good comedy about the quests for the holy grail, and BRAZIL, a science fiction film that I thought was horrible. He has also done a couple of other films that I have not seen, both comedies. He is an actor in the MONTY PYTHON films too. I don't think that Gilliam has ever done a dramatic film before this one and I feel that THE FISHER KING was a very good start.
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