Yesterday, Robin Williams committed suicide, succumbing to a life-long battle with depression. It…hits pretty close to home. While I never knew him in person – though I wish I had – one particularly work of his touched me and has kept me going for years.
In Part 3 of my Bump in the Road series, I talked about February 27, 2000. In some ways, I consider it the worst day of my life. It was my biggest suicide attempt that landed me in psychiatric care for two weeks.
Almost every year since then, I have a small way of “celebrating” that anniversary: watching What Dreams May Come. It’s one of my favourite movies for obviously very personal reasons. Every time I watch it, I bawl my eyes out throughout the whole movie. It deals heavily with suicide and depression while also involving a journey through the afterlife. In my opinion, it’s one of Williams’ finest pieces of acting, as he brings a slew of emotional gravitas to his character the movie.
I want to discuss the movie a little more, but it deals with spoilers, so just a warning.
A common question asked of many writers is “Where do you get your ideas?” Inspiration, of course, comes from multiple sources. Sometimes, a dream inspires a new story. Seeing a movie or reading a book sparks an idea. Just seeing something in public might set something off in your noggin.
Earlier today, I had the chance to see Marvel’s latest superhero flick, Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It astounded me how thematically different it was from its predecessor. The first film, The First Avengers, was for all intents and purposes, a pulp action World War II period piece, similar to The Rocketeer (no surprise, given that they share the same director, Joe Johnstone). Winter Soldier, however, has more in common with more recent espionage thrillers such as the rebooted James Bond series or the Jason Bourne movies. There’s a great deal of modern action, smoke and mirrors spy action, and how a time-displaced Captain America fits in a modern setting.
Part One
Nick Piers 