Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind

When David Letterman saw a young Robin Williams perform stand-up, Letterman quipped, “It was like he could fly.” Williams’s boundless energy, lightning wit, and knack for comedic characters sparked a career on stage and screen unlike any other, making him one of the most beloved stars in modern entertainment. Marina Zenovich carefully collects a trove of intimate archival material and new interviews with Williams’s confidants (including Pam Dawber and Billy Crystal) to summon an intricate portrait of a man who needed an audience just as much as audiences needed someone like him. Hilarious outtakes from Mork & Mindy and Williams’s films illustrate his legendary spontaneity and seemingly effortless humor, but also that his line between stage and life looked, at times, to be perilously thin. Outlandish and unpredictable, Williams gave his all to famously energetic performances that seemed to defy physics. The source of Williams’s comedy was everyday life, and this documentary highlights both his ability to touch so many people and how he earned his place as one of the funniest actors of his generation. (Sundance Film Festival)