Recently, I've noticed a particular pattern that HBO Documentaries tends to use for their productions: They aren't afraid to tackle an already-covered subject (like Andre the Giant or Robin Williams), and along with hitting all the important beats they somehow uncover new footage and conduct really impressive interviews.
This is exactly what happens in "Come Inside My Mind". Since his death in 2014 (and probably even before), Robin Williams has been the subject of many a documentary piece. This one covers maybe 70% of the same ground, but that other 30% is the key. In "Come Inside My Mind", I saw footage of both him and his work that I had never seen before. The interviews with his contemporaries are also riveting and seem to add new perspective rather than hit the same old beats.
The bottom line here is that it is tough to make a really good, original Robin Williams documentary these days, but HBO pretty much manages to nail it here. While a scene or two here or there might feel a bit derivative, for the most part this is a very well-produced look at Williams both in front of and behind the cameras.
This is exactly what happens in "Come Inside My Mind". Since his death in 2014 (and probably even before), Robin Williams has been the subject of many a documentary piece. This one covers maybe 70% of the same ground, but that other 30% is the key. In "Come Inside My Mind", I saw footage of both him and his work that I had never seen before. The interviews with his contemporaries are also riveting and seem to add new perspective rather than hit the same old beats.
The bottom line here is that it is tough to make a really good, original Robin Williams documentary these days, but HBO pretty much manages to nail it here. While a scene or two here or there might feel a bit derivative, for the most part this is a very well-produced look at Williams both in front of and behind the cameras.