"My parents divorced after 40 years of marriage. I said to my mother, ‘What are you gonna do now?’ She said she wasn’t done yet just because she was 70. It moved me and stuck with me. More than anything, it was the idea of how after all these years, you can actually let go," director Dito Montiel told us about what drew him to the drama "Boulevard," which features the final performance of the late Robin Williams.
Co-starring Kathy Baker, Bob Odenkirk and Roberto Aguire, the story follows Nolan, a married but closeted 60 year-old bank employee whose spontaneous turn down an unfamiliar street upends his monotonous life and crumbling marriage, when he picks up a young, charismatic hustler. It’s a showcase role for Williams, who brought his immeasurable skills to his portrayal of the character.
READ MORE: In Memoriam: Robin Williams’ 10 Best Performances
"He was very concerned about the relationship between Nolan and [his wife] Joy. That it not be cartoonized," Montiel recollected. "They loved each other, and in many ways were the loves of each other’s lives. In the bedroom scene, when they say ‘I love you’ to each other, that was not in script. We rehearsed it, and it came out because both he and Kathy understood the complexity of these characters."
The filmmaker smartly played against Williams’ public persona, saying, "Besides being one of the great actors of our time, the idea of someone like him being confined to a character concealing something seemed interesting."
"Boulevard" opens on July 17th. Check out the exclusive scene below in which Nolan and Joy share a memory of watching Jean Luc-Godard‘s ‘Masculin Feminin."