The Fisher King Review- By Michael Carlisle

Title: The Fisher King
Year: 1991
Director: Terry Gilliam
Country: UK
Language: English

Robin Williams was no doubt a great comedian, and he could be an even better actor when the part called to him. Often in films written primarily for kids and families (Mrs. Doubtfire, Hook, Jack) he does occasionally make the decision to act in serious roles. His acting in The Fisher King is remarkable, from the homeless characters' entrance Williams grabs our heartstrings and pulls us into this insane man's search for love. Unfortunately, Williams is the only part holding this film together, otherwise it's a mess.

After hearing a popular DJ rail against yuppies, a madman carries out a massacre in a popular New York bar. Dejected and remorseful, the DJ (Jeff Bridges) strikes up a friendship with Parry (Robin Williams) , a former professor who became unhinged and then homeless after witnessing his wife's violent death in the bar shooting. The DJ seeks redemption by helping Parry in his quest to recover an item that he believes is the Holy Grail and to win the heart of the woman he loves

The main reason I don't like The Fisher King is primarily because i do not enjoy Director Terry Gilliam's visual style.  Roger Ebert has said "his world is always hallucinatory in its richness of detail," however I find Gilliam's cinematography nauseating. Most of his movies are shot almost entirely with rectilinear ultra wide angle lenses of 28 mm focal length or less in order to achieve a distinctive signature style defined by extreme perspective distortion and extremely deep focus.Essentially instead of a normal human field of view, Gilliam's signature style defined by extreme perspective distortion. Many shots look like the character is in a fishbowl. It works for Brazil, as the characters live in a claustrophobic dystopia, but doesn't belong in this film.

The screenplay's enthusiasm for the mythological elements of the story seems genuine, but The Fisher King still strains to capture its audience in this world, mainly because of the various activities that take over the run time. We get urban grit, show-biz angst, two love affairs, the holy grail, the homeless, an action sequence, a dance sequence, and an apocalyptic figure on a horse who rides through Central Park with flames shooting from his head. Is this picture supposed to be a romantic comedy? A brooding drama? What is the message? Some scenes are clever, even charming, but the movie as a whole is sub par and somewhat offensive in regards to how the screenplay treats its female characters. 

In conclusion, The Fisher King has one leg to stand on, but that is merely because of Robin Williams' performance, otherwise it is a B picture by a director who has made much smarter films.  It unfortunately views all homeless people as crazy lunatics, instead of what the majority are; sane people in unfortunate circumstances. The ending is wrapped in a nice little package, and it would be welcome,  it it didn't definitely undermine the audiences' intelligence.