Directed By Ian Bonhote and Peter Ettedgui

Starring – Christopher Reeve, Dana Reeve, Glenn Close

The Plot – Reeve’s rise to becoming a film star, follows with a near-fatal horse-riding accident in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the neck down. After which he became an activist for spinal cord injury treatments and disability rights.

Rated PG-13 for some strong adult language and thematic elements.

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story | Official Trailer (youtube.com)

POSITIVES

Superhero is a topical phrase reserved for gifted fictional characters who go extraordinary lengths to help people, but in the case of Christopher Reeves, he not only portrayed Superman for four films, but also inspired millions with his activism to drive awareness to paraplegics, as a result of his own life-changing accident. Those conditions are articulated vividly in Bonhote and Ettedgui’s film, constructing an affectionately moving and compelling portrait that not only offers a complete career retrospective, but also insightful accessibility into the man behind the scenes with his family, as told through those who knew him best. Between the emotions conveyed by his three loving children, and admiration of his A-list peers, like Glenn Close, Jeff Daniels, and Richard Donner, to name a few, we come to understand a man who was passionate about the stage and theater, but also equally passionate about his children, and though a story with so much overwhelming positivity in reflection, it would be easy to mistake this as a conventional puff piece to only sell Reeve’s legacy, but the documentary surprisingly includes a lot of conflicting tidbits about Christopher that proves he was anything but perfect, all presented tastefully in ways that are effortless to understand without downright justifying it. On top of this, Bonhote and Ettedgui make the daring decision to construct such an unconventional structure to their storytelling, which deviates quite naturally between respective time frames, transitioning when something in the current topic resonates audibly with something else in the past. This keeps the documentary from feeling too conventionally safe, but beyond that looks back visually on Chris’ life like a collection of memories that are frequently flashing before our very eyes, marrying the trials and tribulations of real life with instances in film that conjure quite the irony when told in correspondence, all the while leaving nothing out biographically that pertains to such an important figure in entertainment and even political activism. As expected, the film is quite an emotionally wrenching experience in maintaining focus towards such a vulnerable time frame in Chris’ life, but without ever feeling manipulative to use his grief and anguish towards something unearned. Such an example pertains to Chris’ well-documented friendship with the late, great Robin Williams, and though we’re used to experiencing the latter as rambunctiously endearing as possible, it’s those tender moments of Williams speaking at Reeves’ funeral that left me an uncontrollably sobbing mess, offering a stark contrast to scenes of wonderment and even self-deprecatory humor, to which the film’s first half is loaded to the brim with. But even aside from being a rollercoaster of emotions, ‘Super/Man’ is undeniably a love-letter to those people who were heroes to the hero in question, particularly the dual lovers of Reeve, who are each given ample time to shine in their importance and survival to this family. What’s refreshing is that both sides of this step family came together for the commonality of their respective goal in making Chris’ life as painless as possible, not only appraising an idea that we’re all better equipped to face challenges for survival together, but also this selfless appeal in characterization between Chris, Dana and Gae, who continuously put these three children ahead of their own conflicts, all for the sake of helping out where necessary. In doing such, we certainly come to learn a lot about their differences and similarities, which helped to shape their eventualities, but even beyond that, these compartmentalized emotions towards each that typically isn’t privy towards a documentary with one primary focus, proving this to be every bit those women’s story as it is Chris’. The art direction for the picture also goes a long way in maintaining investment, though never anything that feels distracting to the integrity of the corresponding narration that accommodates it. Beyond the abundance of cinema footage and home movies, the presentation is blessed with these interjectory sequences involving iconography of a statue resembling Superman, that, afar hang and fly in the heavens of these gorgeous backdrops, but up close provide visual emphasis in the struggles of Chris’ body. This is an easier tool than trying to explain the specifics of anatomy for those who might not realize the magnitude of the situation being elaborated on, and with these Kryptonite crystals surging from those certain areas of bodily torture being articulated, we’re given insight on an artistic level to elaborate on scientific specifics, resulting in maintained communication that goes a long way in bridging the audiences, perceptive and non, to never feeling lost or incapable of understanding what is being discussed. Lastly, the 99 minute run time does come with pros and cons to the experience of the engagement, but beneficially maintains urgency in the development of the storytelling, which helps to keep ‘Super/Man’ from ever overstaying its welcome. This honestly was never a concern for me personally, as the subject matter was something I was greatly looking forward to, but even for those audiences feeling conflicted by so much depression and eventual tragedy in the material, its storytelling refuses to linger in these elements long enough in ways that could otherwise make the picture feel like a wet blanket condemning future rewatches, instead opting for the persisting approach that allowed this engagement to fly by without me ever feeling the need to check my watch.

NEGATIVES

Truthfully, this is a near perfect documentary, but even with that established praise, there is one section of the film that I was disappointed in the lack of depth to its exploration, and I find it to be the nagging instance of the aforementioned 99 minute run time that was bound to shortchange one of the infinite talking points. It unfortunately comes to be Chris’ challenges with congress restructuring their funding towards paraplegic studies, which outside of his family feel like the single most important aspect to this documentary occasion, if even just to learn about things we as everyday citizens aren’t privy to. I certainly wasn’t asking for an hour of focus to be donated to this area, but I think a lot of specifics of the expansion are left criminally unexplored, with only a few spare facts left to outline the uphill climb that this population faced in attaining some semblance of even temporary resolution, leaving everything from the groundwork of establishing communication with congress, to the satisfying moment of relief dramatically underscored, especially when compared to the rest of the film’s talking points, which never leave any of my preconceived questions abandoned by a lack of exploration.

OVERALL
‘Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story’ is an inspiring and wistful tribute to the life and legacy of a larger-than-life superhero, whose biggest feats of strength and rescue happened beyond the fictional encompassing of the silver screen. With a variety of speaking guests, archival and home video footage, and candidly revealing talking points, the film gets us closer to the memory of Reeve, twenty years after his untimely passing, than ever before, in turn conjuring an emotional roller coaster that outlines life as being faster than a speeding bullet, and more powerful than a locomotive.

My Grade: 8/10 or A-