MQFF NOTES: Boulevard (2015, Dir. Dito Montiel)

Robin Williams takes on another of the low-key roles he was often attracted to in Dito Montiel's Boulevard. Here he's Nolan Mack, a line-toeing bank employee, who bides his time between work and a mundane home life with his wife Joy (Kathy Baker). The couple appear as old couples appear, content to sleep in separate rooms, satisfied with dinner parties and dreams of cruise ship getaways.

Nolan has a secret though. It's a secret so hidden he's not even sure of what it is himself but when he is drawn to a local rent boy strip and almost unconsciously picks up Leo (Roberto Aguire), the self-questioning begins to bubble to the surface.

There's not too much new in Boulevard, in fact it is a film that probably would have been far better received fifteen or so years ago. In 2016, Montiel needed to bring some A-game direction to the piece and it never materialises. The film is both clumsy and drab, with the camera purposelessly overactive and the acting uneven (though expectedly solid from both Williams and Baker).

More than anywhere else, Boulevard shows its flaws in it screenplay, both in its uncomfortable scripting and in its narrative development. Screenwriter Douglas Soesbe has an uneasy relationship with his material, both the sex work side and the sexuality. Both get extended screen time but without any real or realistic exploration. When things finally come to a head, Soesbe shuts the whole thing down without ever having added anything to the conversation (remembering that conversation ended about a decade ago).

It is disappointing that Boulevard will stand as one of Robin Williams' last acting turns. It is certainly not worthy of his considerable talents. It is a welcome reminder of his reach beyond the comic. There were deeper depths to plumb here though.

★★

Trailer:

Boulevard screened as part of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival 2016.

You can check out other films from the festival here.