Job by Alexis Lebrun September 17, 2021
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After the suicide of actor Robin Williams in 2014, his wife Susan Schneider Williams discovered that he suffered from an incurable degenerative disease that was undiagnosed during his lifetime. She tells in this documentary the last very difficult months of one who is considered one of the best actors of his generation.
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Long descent
The months leading up to his death in August 2014, Robin Williams was still shooting a movie, Night at the Museum: The Secret of the Pharaohs (Shawn Levy, 2015), but filming is difficult. The actor isn’t quite himself on set anymore and everyone notices, but his struggles are obviously being kept a secret.
It was only after his death and his autopsy that his wife discovered the disease that had been gnawing at him for some time and which had ended up making his life impossible. Unfortunately, the Lewy body disease he suffered from was not diagnosed while he was alive, and Robin Williams suffered from the unbearable symptoms of this dementia that is gradually spreading to the brain, which several medical experts explain in this documentary by Tyler Norwood (2020).
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A master of improv
Contrary to what many American media claimed at the time of Robin Williams’ death, the latter did not therefore commit suicide due to depression or financial problems. The effects of his illness made his life hell, because the actor long known for his quick-wittedness could no longer exercise his profession or lead a normal life.
His wife and close friends recount the sad ordeal of a man who was also known for his joie de vivre and the laughter he elicited on a daily basis with his loved ones, which also allows the documentary to look back on his beginnings as a stand-up artist in California in the 1970s, using tasty archives. Because Robin Williams was a genius of improvisation, a talent that made his reputation around the world during his more than three decades of career.
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Tribute from the fans
The documentary also recalls the global shock wave triggered by the announcement of his death on August 11, 2014, and the voracity of the media that had invaded the quiet place where he lived. But what we remember above all are the tributes of his many fans, so much Robin Williams has branded several generations with roles that have become cult, such as the improbable nanny he plays in Madame Doubtfire (Chris Columbus, 1993).
The actor, a bicycle fan, was also known for his trips to Iraq and Afghanistan with American troops and wounded soldiers, but his illness had ended up making any trip outside his home very hazardous. Today, his wife has a little more peace of mind knowing what he was suffering from, and she struggles to explain the reality of this still little known disease, with the hope that a cure will one day exist.
In the meantime, the memory of the pranks and incredible career of Robin Williams is not about to fade.
Robin’s wish, a doc available on CANAL +
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