Robin Williams Confronts His True Self in ‘Boulevard’

Brendan Reynolds

Standing on thematic ground paved by poignant character films like “A Single Man” and dramatic serial television programs such as Showtime’s Masters Of Sex, “Boulevard,”starring Robin Williams, giving a sincere and touching performance in one of his final roles, centers on a man (Nolan) coming to terms with his latent homosexuality in the twilight of his life. Unlike both of the aforementioned cinematic works, which operate as 1960’s set pieces, this moody character drama takes place in modern day, demonstrating that such complex identity crises have no easy resolution even in a more progressive and open-minded world.

The story takes hold as Nolan, having reached an existential breaking point after many devoted years to a tender yet non-physical marriage and the cubicle monotony of his bank job, takes a turn down the other side of the tracks while driving home from a visit to his dying father, and decides to pick up a young male prostitute. The prostitute, a beleaguered and destitute young man named Leo, played by newcomer Roberto Aguire, becomes the object of Nolan’s non-sexual affection and the story turns into a meditation on lost time and the acceptance of internal truth despite its superficial costs.

As Nolan continues to carry on a platonic albeit desperately intimate relationship with Leo, we start to see that his craving for the young man’s attention stems from not only too many years of repressed sexual desire and a passionless marital life, but also as a means for Nolan to reflect on what his life may have been had he accepted the true nature of his sexual identity earlier in life. As Leo’s life continues to spiral out of control in self destruction and at the hand of an abusive pimp, the relationship dynamic between him and Nolan becomes more father-son like than that of two lovers. Nolan and Leo’s unconventional tryst begins to add another level of tension and complexity to Nolan’s life outside of Leo, as he attempts to maintain the clandestine nature of their relationship.

In a conversation with Entertainment Voice, “Boulevard” director Dito Montiel (“A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints”) had this to say regarding the character of Nolan and his peculiar relationship with Leo. “When we were making it, it was less of a father-son thing. We saw it as Robin Williams (Nolan) being there looking at himself at 23 years old, and he’s in those rooms and he almost can’t believe it. He’s there saying why couldn’t I have done this 40 years ago you know, life could have been so much better. I don’t know about being a male prostitute maybe, but I think it was just that sometimes, and it happens to all of us as we get older, you’re looking at someone who was your age and wondering why couldn’t I just have gone through that door you know? So a lot of the reason why Robin is so still in a lot of those rooms is because when he is looking at Leo, he’s looking at himself, and all that he’s lost, and the years he can’t get back. So in that way it felt even stranger for him to have sex with himself. But I understand the father-son question because he’s very tender with him when he takes care of him.”

The film also features solid performances by entertainment industry vets Kathy Baker and Bob Odenkirk who play Nolan’s wife and best friend respectively.

“Boulevard” opens in select theaters July 17.