“Are you happy?”
The age-old existential question that haunts every soul is bluntly but beautifully tackled in this gripping indie film written by Douglas Soesbe. More famously publicised as late veteran actor Robin Williams’ final onscreen appearance, Boulevard has in my opinion, been hugely underrated in the most unfortunate circumstance.
Filmed just over a year before Williams took his life, this feature piece is rumoured to be a window into Williams’ hard-pressed and depressed last few years. Many voiced regret that this final act of Williams’ wasn’t more pompous and dismissed it as a role that hardly glorified his red carpet signatures such as the classic voiceover of Genie in Aladdin and Golden Globe-winning performance in Mrs Doubtfire. Well, I beg to differ, because really, what could be a more befitting finale to an actor’s career than playing a part seemingly resonant with one’s own life.
Mutli-award winning Director Dito Montiel helms the camera behind this parallel portrayal of the every man’s story. Set in the unpretentious city of Nashville, Boulevard tells the coming-out story of Nolan Mack (Robin Willams) and his struggle with his inner-self.
The 60-year-old Nolan and his wife, Joy (played by Kathy Backer), exchange morning kisses, enjoy dinner nights together and host intimate dinners for their close friends. At work, Nolan is set to receive a promotion with a pay increment, after almost three decades as a loan officer in a bank. He’s got a wife who adores him, a boss who appreciates him, friends who love him, a nice home to live in with no known financial struggles to his name.
Yet little quirks of Nolan’s day-in day-out, well-hidden from the public eye, quickly gain traction to underscore the disparity in Nolan’s life. But it is not until he meets young male prostitute, Leo (played by newcomer Roberto Aguire), that everything becomes crystal clear. Nolan is gay.
Before you go squirming at possible sexual imageries that prostitution and a repressed old man prime you into conjuring, I assure you other than a stark naked Leo and a couple of vulgarities, nothing happens, and that is part beauty of this movie.
Boulevard isn’t just about the struggles the homosexual community face or a coming-out story. It is every man’s story. Homosexual or not, all of us face our own secret struggles, made secret because we choose to conform to societal norms, to society’s expectations, as opposed to fulfilling our inner desires.
While Nolan eventually comes out of the closet, he doesn’t do so without knocking a few people down as he opens the doors, namely his wife. But that’s the thing about secret struggles and finding happiness isn’t it?
Boulevard manages, in the most plain and realistic setting (nothing to do with budgetary constrains, I hope) to convey what happiness entails – deciding whether what that matters to you is worth fighting for, even if it means hurting a few people along the way and letting go of everything familiar.
But as touching and relevant as it is to us all, appreciating the film for its deepest sense may in all honesty and seriousness, be a challenge for those averse to relationships involving two men, and two men with at least a 30-year gap. So while this movie sits high on my recommended list of movies, as with most indie films, I urge you to kindly approach with an open mind.
Boulevard opens in theatres on 8 October 2015. Rated R21 (Homosexual Theme). Runs for 88 mins.
Watch the trailer here:
