Robin Williams gives one of his finest performances in years in Dito Montiel’s “Boulevard” which premiered at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival. In the film he plays Nolan, a bank employee who comes to the sudden realization that he’s unhappy with almost every aspect of his life. He’s stuck in a loveless marriage with Joy (a phenomenal Kathy Baker) who spends her time trying to find activities for them to rekindle the flames, he’s unhappy with his job and becomes terrified with the prospect of a promotion. Then one day driving down a boulevard he runs into a young hustler named Leo (Roberto Aguire) with whom he develops a unique relationship. Both overprotective of him and scared of his emotions, Nolan begins to uncover his true self as his world slowly unravels.

The day after the premiere, we sat down with Montiel, Baker and Aguire who talked about working with Williams, building their characters and got into a debate over one unexpected household item.

StageBuddy: I feel like with “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints” you made the definitive movie about Astoria, which led me to believe you’d become an exclusively “New York filmmaker”. Yet watching “Boulevard” you get a sense that you’re able to construct unique worlds outside the city you obviously love so much. Can you talk about the difference between working in NYC and Nashville, where “Boulevard” takes place?

Dito Montiel: It’s just stories. I’ve always been a fan of New York movies, because I’m like “hey ‘Goodfellas’ was shot in my block”, but for example films like “Cinema Paradiso” made me feel like I was in that movie. In “Boulevard” it was all about the characters and the actors and we filmed in Nashville, but we were purposefully trying not to embrace “Nashville” too much, because it wasn’t the story of the city, but of Nolan.

SB: Can you talk about toning down Robin Williams’ energy for this part?

DM: The character is bursting with that energy, it was one thing that was exciting about him. We all know him like the guy doing that character that always feels as if he’s about to pounce.

SB: Kathy, can you discuss working with him and building a relationship to the point where as audience members we believe you’ve been married for decades?

Kathy Baker: It’s really easy with Robin, I’d never met him before and I met him one day before we worked and with the great ones, it’s just easy to do the chemistry. I’m not saying it doesn’t involve focus and attention and work, but it was easy playing as if we’d known each other forever because he’s so good and it’s our job to show we were married for thirty years.

SB: Roberto, with you we get a sense that even if you turn Leo into a fully human character he always remains a mystery, which made me wonder how do you avoid turning a character like this into a symbol or a plot device?

Roberto Aguire: For me personally, and Dito knows this all too well, I love doing backstory and doing all the research I can and knowing everything about the world Leo lives in and the person he was before we see him. It was important for me for people to fall in love with Leo in a sense, Robin’s character does that to an extent, he falls in love with this connection. I really wanted to make sure that came across and there was a constant battle trying to make sure he wasn't just a soft stereotype that came in and acted as a catalyst, but to really have someone people would see as broken and that both characters were able to help each other. Dito watching me, kept me in line for that.
SB: The film is about love, not necessarily romantic love, and you achieve something special which is to not make Nolan creepy, or someone we can judge. How did you get to this place with the characters?

DM: When I read the script all I could think about was Joy and “how can he do this?”. I never read it as a coming out story, maybe if it was about Nolan when he was 23 it would’ve been different, more joyous. But it is about how to say goodbye after all those years. I love hearing all the different opinions, because for example I never thought there was love between Leo and Nolan, I thought Nolan was trying to recapture youth, but I’m happy to disagree (laughs).

I sympathized with Nolan and on this flipside, with Joy, it was all about being watching and pushing the right buttons. I think everyone can identify with this film, whether it be with a relationship, a girl or a band (laughs). I think it’s about people being afraid to let go.

SB: In “Guide” the main character’s father is dying and in “Boulevard” Nolan’s father is very ill. What keeps drawing you to these stories?

DM: The father stuff? It just happens!

KB: That’s life. “Star Wars” is about that!

SB: Joy and Leo don’t have any scenes together…

RA: No! I know. Kathy and I weren’t in the same movie.

SB: But there is still a tension and suspense. Will Leo and Joy meet? What will happen? Did you work together at all to know more about each other’s characters?

KB: No. We never had a real conversation. We met twice. It wasn’t like “oh, let’s never talk”, it just sort of happened that way. I think we both sorta wanted to stay away.

RA: We are in two completely different movies. Nolan links them but Joy and Leo don’t have any interaction.

KB: It works out with the shooting schedule anyway. Sometimes you do movies with someone and you never meet them.

SB: Can you talk about how strict you were with Douglas’ screenplay? Did you follow it as it was or did you let the actors improvise?

KB: We didn’t ad lib. It’s a beautiful script and it didn’t need embellishment. Robin doesn’t adlib. That last scene in the film, where Joy and Nolan argue, was five pages long and he didn’t change a single word.

DM: If people wanna play a little, I don’t like to put marks down because I wouldn’t know what to do with them. Like with that pillow in the end, I kept telling Kathy not to throw the pillow and she threw it but I loved it!

KB: Are you saying it’s OK then?

DM: I loved it! It’s in the movie.

KB: I couldn’t help it. I felt I was playing a cliché, but if Joy didn’t throw that pillow she would’ve hit him. I’m not saying it’s not a little cliché, but life is full of clichés. I just had to hold that pillow and it was the only time I defied you.

DM: She defied me lots of times (laughs)

KB: He’s one of the most brilliant directors ever, so specific and passionate. He takes you on this journey and you think you’re going to go one way and he takes you all around and around and then you end where you first started, however the journey has made it all richer and fuller.

RA: When Dito’s in movie mode the whole world goes silent...

KB: But he was wrong about throwing the pillow. When a woman needs to throw a pillow, a woman needs to throw a pillow. Dammit.