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Williams himself gets a similar whiplash-inducing treatment, with the film hovering between hero worship (it’s too fond of slow-motion shots of him walking roughshod or strutting around in his workshop burning with a blowtorch and knocking things over) and another detached, critical eye. However, it eventually settles into an observant, kind but ruthless groove, probably where it should have settled from the start. Williams’ two exes and daughter are sympathetic but merciless in their assessment of his failings as a partner and parent, and his colleagues paint a picture of a genius who did have trouble fitting into bureaucratic structures but made things worse for himself by was a wild ass who couldn’t accept decisions that went against his impulses.
The film’s final act is so dark and insightful that it retroactively elevates what might otherwise have felt like an unnecessarily overlong DVD extra built around a compelling but borderline insufferable screen character who, by his own admission, lacks self-control and the ability to learn from his mistakes. The most glowing assessment comes from Williams himself, who at the time of filming had been to rehab three times (there’s no code indicating whether his third time stuck) and was shown stumbling drunkenly around his house and workshop, muttering to himself. Some of these shots are so painful that they border on too much, though they feel instructive because of Williams’ own awareness of her weaknesses and missteps.
Williams has filmed herself and her family life quite often over the years, and it’s amazing how unflattering many of the removed shots are to the person who filmed them – just as damning, really, as the footage the director has of Williams self-immolating on camera. can of beer in hand, pontificating, cursing and bumping into things. “I’m always the damn same. Always,” he unwittingly brags during an interview in which he was at least somewhat honest about the impact of his drinking and bullying, ostentatious behavior, on his relationships and career. “Why, why, why are you so busy?” his second ex-wife, animator Ellen Schade, yells at him through a loudspeaker in home videos taken during the early goings-on. “I f—ing blew it up,” Williams later blurts out as he fumbles his way into the shower stall. He later admits, “I’ve never been an adult.”
Ironically, that’s what made Williams’ mentality and unique skill set so perfect for the blockbuster era, which turned the art of reproducing childhood awe into a business model. They refined it a little more with each decade, until there was little room left in theaters for movies that could offer something to viewers who were truly adults and wanted to watch other adults in stories about hard choices with no easy outcomes.
Now playing in theaters and available on VOD.
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