Discovering who you are can take a lifetime for some and it did for Nolan Mack, the last character the late Robin Williams played in a movie. Nolan is the center of Boulevard, the new film from director Dito Montiel and writer Douglas Soesbe. As one of several indie movies Williams made before his death in August 2013, the movie was finally released this summer. Today, it hits Blu-ray.
Nolan is a bored, 60-year-old bank employee. He finds his job boring, even when put up for a promotion. He finds his friend Winston (Bob Odenkirk) repetitive. Even though he loves his wife, Joy (Kathy Baker), they are not sleeping in the same room. To make his life even more dreary, his father is on the edge of death at a hospital and his mother died six months ago. That’s a lot of sadness for one man to bear.
One night while driving though, he decides to turn down a boulevard that he rarely goes down and spots a young man, Leo (Roberto Aguire). Leo is a prostitute, but Nolan doesn’t want sex. He just wants to talk, because for him, love isn’t just about sex. And Nolan is falling in love with Leo, because for the first time, he can finally reveal his true self. He’s gay and this relationship with Leo finally allows him to embrace that.
Boulevard is a sleek film and Montiel does his best to bring a stylized look to its bleakness, but the entire film rests on Williams’ shoulders. While it may be painful to watch knowing how the beloved actor’s life ended, his performance in Boulevard should be seen as a culmination and a worthy final epilogue to his career. Acting just came instinctively to him, as he really knew how to reach an audience. It’s sad that he spent his later years making little-seen VOD movies and cameos in Hollywood blockbusters that only kept the perception that he wasn’t a good dramatic actor alive. Williams had been working to break that belief since he started making movies in the 1980s. Nolan is a role that if he were alive to promote, could have gotten some awards attention.
Running just 88 minutes, the film doesn’t leave much time to its supporting players. Roberto Aguire does give a performance that, if seen by more people, could be a breakout part for him. He effectively plays the “Eliza Doolittle” of the piece, as Nolan tries to shape him into the person Nolan wants him to be, despite his protests. And Kathy Baker does get a wonderfully played emotional scene at the end of the film.
While Williams does get to give that final great performance he deserved, Boulevard does feel like it’s missing something. Maybe if it was a bit longer, the characters around Nolan might have been better defined. Montiel’s direction really doesn’t make the film visually interesting. But again, if anyone is looking for further proof that Williams was a great actor, Boulevard will do the job.
Boulevard hits Blu-ray today from Anchor Bay and Starz. It features no bonus material.
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