By Dr. Roberta Valdez
After an initial reaction of shock and sadness over the loss of the very talented comedian and gifted actor, Robin Williams, I reflected on his many fine performances on TV, stage, and film. There have been many mentions of his Academy Award-winning performance in Good Will Hunting, as well as the performances he delivered in Good Morning, Vietnam, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Dead Poets Society. I have seen them all, but I believe that a couple of others that have received little mention, The World According to Garp and Awakenings, should not be missed.
Directed by George Roy Hill, the 1982 film The World According to Garp was based on a John Irving novel. John Irving is one of my favorite authors, and several of his books have been adapted for the screen. In my experience, news that a film is being made from a novel that I liked, such as The World According to Garp, is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, I’m delighted that the work will reach a larger audience. On the other hand is the fear that the film or TV show will take too many liberties or otherwise destroy what was compelling about the source material. In the case of Irving, some adaptations, like Cider House Rules for which Irving won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 1999, are excellent. Others, like, The Hotel New Hampshire starring Jodie Foster, are somewhat less effective.
The World According to Garp is one of the better adaptations. The cast, with Williams in the lead, Glenn Close as his mother, and John Lithgow as his transsexual friend, is outstanding. Glenn Close was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar and John Lithgow for Best Supporting Actor Oscar for their roles, but without Robin Williams as Garp, the film doesn’t work. The highest praise one can give of a performance is to say, “I can’t imagine anyone else in that role.” This is my reaction to Williams’ performance in the film; he was able to capture the essential goodness, sweetness, but also the melancholy of the character.
Like the The World According to Garp, I had read the source material for the film Awakenings, a book of the same title by the neurologist Oliver Sacks. Robert De Niro gives an outstanding performance in the difficult role as a patient who’s transformed from a non-reactive victim of post-encephalitic sleeping sickness to an animated one who wants to experience life that he has missed. Robin Williams is also outstanding and understated as a shy, sensitive, caring, and likeable doctor who works with these patients.
These two films, in addition to all those frequently mentioned, deserve a viewing as we remember Robin Williams.
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Additional Editor’s Note: In addition to Roberta Valdez’ suggestions of The World According to Garp and Awakenings, I’d like to suggest viewings of The Fisher King and Insomnia for those who are looking for performances outside of the box. – By Rebecca Murray
