Written by Richard LaGravenese
Directed by Terry Gilliam

The Fisher King is one of my favorite movies of all time.  Terry Gilliam created a modern masterpiece.  The performances are fantastic, and the message contained within it is one we should all heed. Sometimes our words, tossed out with seemingly increasing flippancy in our society, do damage we cannot repair.

Jeff Bridges is Jack Lucas, a Howard Stern-like radio talk show host. He’s at the apex of his career and on the edge of becoming something even bigger when a throw-away line during one of his shows sets off a mass shooting.

Three years later, Jack is still shying away from the world. He’s a bit of a recluse, afraid to interact with anyone. Most of his time is spent in the video store run by his new girlfriend, Anne (portrayed by Mercedes Ruehl). One night in a drunken stupor, he wanders under a bridge to where some homeless people camp. Jack is about to be set on fire by a couple of bullies when he is saved by Parry (portrayed by Robin Williams). Parry is homeless, and more than slightly insane, but also seems to have something of a moral compass that is missing from Jack.  It turns out Parry’s wife was killed in the shooting Jack’s words set off.

Jack is motivated by this chance encounter to try to do something. He learns more about Parry, whose real name was Henry Sagan, and who was a teacher before he was committed for a period following the shooting.  As he’s bringing Parry back into society, he also feels like he’s redeeming himself.  Jack is finding the strength to get on the air again, and maybe grab some of his old life back.

Were it all that simple…

The Fisher King is great in so many ways. It’s a cautionary tale about what we take for granted in life.  But it’s also saying something about how we throw words around indiscriminately, never knowing how someone else will take them. In today’s society with shock jocks and talk radio, there still seems to be a prevalence of washing our hands of the harm words do.  Even when called on something like this, for labeling a woman as a slut and whore for wanting birth control, the apologies seem half-hearted.  No one is stepping back and thinking honestly about the person on the other side hearing those words.  Sure, there are some of us who have learned that “sticks and stones” adage and let it roll off of us, but there are plenty more who will hear a call to arms and act on it.

Above all, The Fisher King is about our humanity, or lack thereof at times.  Jack is struggling with who he is.  It would be hard to believe that something good can come out of a horrific event, but just as there are those who changed their lives for the better after 9/11, Jack has the potential to become a better person once he befriends Parry.  The problem is, he thinks once he’s hit a certain point that he’s done; that he doesn’t have to continue cultivating the decent side of him that’s come out.  There’s not a cause and effect to what happens after that, but certainly, it challenges the notion that Jack can completely wash his hands of the culpability he has in the shooting that took place.

I think the character of Jack was Jeff Bridges’ best role.  He nails both the shock-jock who only seeks fame, success, and money as well as the despondent alcoholic who does seem to have potential.  The characters are polar opposites, yet Bridges makes them believable.  Add in Robin Williams as Parry and you have two lead characters that are spectacular.  Williams brings in just enough of his craziness and zaniness to make Parry interesting and fun without him going over the top. It’s easy to believe him creating a world where he escapes reality and is stalked by a knight on a horse.  I credit Gilliam with reigning in some of what Williams has exhibited in other films where he just seems to be the same character in a different setting.  Parry is quite different than other Williams characters but brings in humor as well.  Ruehl and Amanda Plummer are excellent as the women playing off the two central characters.  They are supporting roles that truly do what that role was intended for, supporting the main characters in furthering the story and making it all the more richer and poignant.

The setting is magnificent.  New York shows its underbelly in The Fisher King.  The world of the homeless and mentally unstable isn’t pretty.  Contrast that with the life Jack has during his glory days and it’s startling.  Just contrast it with the middle-class existence he experiences while with Anne.  All of these worlds are part of the same New York City setting but seem as if they exist on totally different planets, never mind in the same small locale.

The music is stunning as well, drawing on the right amount of emotion, especially as Parry is battling his demons and maybe about to win.  I loved listening to this film almost as much as I’ve loved watching it, and I’ve watched it a good number of times over the years.

If you haven’t seen The Fisher King I really can’t recommend it enough.  There isn’t a fault I can find with the film.