As I get older and rewatch one of my favourite movies ever, Superman: the Movie, I appreciate Reeve's performance more and more. It is nuanced and powerful while also the embodiment of one of the greatest fictional characters of all time. Like a lot of actors who debut in an iconic role he had a hard time shaking his image as that character, as Superman. After he famously suffered a spinal chord injury and began advocating for the rights and dignity of people with disabilities, he began getting called Superman for different reasons. When we lost him he was still most commonly known in this larger than life way as a hero or one kind or another.
Super/Man: the Christopher Reeve story, while extremely reverent and loving to the man, does show him as a real person and humanizes him in ways that we rarely get to see. It very expertly jumps back and forth from the different stages in his life to clearly and effectively walk us through his rise in fame, the growth of his family, his accident, and his advocacy work until his untimely death. It all hits so hard and reminds us how lucky we are to have his legacy in this world.
But what I appreciated the most was seeing him as a human being. Not as Superman. Not as movie star. Not as inspirational advocate and hero. As a person whose life was cut too short. It was great to hear from those who loved him, both the famous and non-famous ones. It was a great reminder of a great life that faced some very high highs and some very great challenges, but loved living. And gave us so much.
Super/Man: the Christopher Reeve Story
Starring: Christopher Reeve, Robin Williams, Glenn Glose, Susan Sarandon, Whoopi Goldberg
Directors: Ian Bonhôte, Peter Ettedgui
Writers: Ian Bonhote, Peter Ettedgui, Otto Burnham
No comments:
Post a Comment