Review of The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (2014) by Johnny T — 18 Sep 2014

Yes, I'm aware that Robin Williams has a few more movies in the can that have yet to be released, but this was the last one released theatrically before he passed away, and serves as sort of an epitaph to his life and career.

It's not particularly inventive or great for that matter, but there are parts to his character in this movie that can be seen as drawing from his real-life experiences. While this the job of an actor, to get inside the head of a character, the way they often do this is by drawing on their own life experiences.

It's probably not an accident that Robin Williams ended up playing a lot divorced men in his career, seeing as how he was divorced twice during his lifetime. Anyway, back to the movie. The story is rather simple: Henry Altmann (Williams) is told by his doctor (Mila Kunis) that he has a brain aneurysm, and has 90 minutes to live.

He then sets out to reconnect with the important people in his life. At around 84 minutes, you might think that the film is insufficiently long, and you'd be partially right. Character development is kept to a minimum, and done mostly in flashback, but the brevity of the film actually kind of works with the urgency of the Henry's situation.

All of the parts are well-played, but Mila Kunis is the least of them. Robin Williams played angry rather well, but Mila Kunis came off as screechy and annoying a lot of the time. Melissa Leo also did a good job as Henry's estranged wife.

Story-wise, there isn't a whole lot going on. It goes at a workman-like pace, but you could feel the mechanics of the storytelling in a way that cheapened whatever emotional payoff they were going for.

There were only two moments that moved me: the first is Henry recording a video message for his son, and the other is him in a hospital bed, with voiceover narration that was uncomfortably close to reality.

Speaking of voiceover, there is a bit too much of it, and it comes from both Robin Williams' and Mila Kunis' characters. Thematically, there isn't any new ground broken either. There have been many films which try to show the importance of family and making peace with others.

Still, it is an admirable message and it didn't feel belabored or trite here. Overall, this was a quirky little indie film that has decent performances and a good message. Not one of Robin Williams' best, but it is a fitting end to a long career.