Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
Two troubled men face their terrible destinies and events of their past as they join together on a mission to find the Holy Grail and thus to save themselves.
The Fisher King is one of Terry Gilliam's most emotionally resonant films, blending Arthurian myth with gritty 1990s New York in a genuinely singular way. Jeff Bridges and Robin Williams deliver career-highlight performances — Williams in particular brings raw, mercurial depth to Parry that few actors could manage. Gilliam's visual imagination is on full display, especially the Grand Central Station waltz sequence and the hellish Red Knight, though the cinematography serves the story rather than becoming a formal achievement in itself. The plot is inventive and heartfelt but occasionally meandering, and the romantic subplot with Amanda Plummer and Mercedes Ruehl (who won an Oscar) can feel uneven. The ending lands emotionally but leans into sentimentality in a way that slightly undercuts the film's more daring, unhinged earlier stretches. Its fusion of urban realism, fairy tale, and dark comedy makes it truly one-of-a-kind — no other film quite occupies this tonal and thematic space.