I’d been hearing about how powerful Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story was since Sundance. Documentaries aren’t usually my thing, but this was Christopher Reeve. As a kid, I idolized his portrayal of the Man of Steel in Richard Donner’s 1978 film Superman, but I must confess to not knowing much about him…well, past that fateful day in 1995. I knew that a tragic accident had disabled the man who once leaped tall buildings with a single bound, and I knew that he fought hard for a cause that affected him and millions of others directly. But what this extraordinary film does is show just how much Christopher Reeve embodied the title of “superhero” long after he stopped wearing the cape.
You probably don’t need me to tell you this one is a tearjerker, so keep the Kleenex handy. Directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story fillls in the gaps with details a lot of us never saw or just didn’t know. We see him as a young, struggling actor at Juilliard, where his lifelong (and equally tragic) friendship with Robin Williams was born. We see him as a man torn between two broken homes and competing for the love of his strict father, academic F.D. Reeve. True to the common documentary format, celebrity talking heads pop up with illuminating and funny anecdotes: Susan Sarandon, Glenn Close, Whoopi Goldberg, and Jeff Daniels among them. Daniels has the best stories, including one when he was there with Reeve backstage before an off-Broadway performance and he revealed he was flying to London to audition for Superman. The only one to speak out against it was actor William Hurt, who feared Reeve would “sell out”. Funny, considering Hurt’s role in the Marvel movies many years later. Sadly, another actor mentioned in this film who also left far too soon.
It’s amazing how fast it all happened, Reeve’s turn to stardom. His first Broadway performance was in 1976, and by 1978 he was a superstar, and to many people the one and only best version of Superman. Many people didn’t think the movie would be a hit, but Reeve won everyone over with his performance, his look, his confidence, his skilled physical comedy as Clark Kent. Reeve had aspirations of doing more, and of course, there’s the artist’s struggle at being pigeonholed in a single role forever. None of Reeve’s non-Superman roles turned out to be as career-defining. In a bitter irony, just days before his tragic accident Reeve starred in the HBO film Above Suspicion, in which he plays a paralyzed cop.
Compelling throughout, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story is something greater when we see the people he has impacted. They are the ones left to relive that terrible day, May 27th 1995, when a fluke horse riding accident threw Reeve to the ground. It left him paralyzed from the neck down. It’s perhaps because we all so closely identified Reeve with the role of Superman that this injury would hit everyone so hard. An avid sportsman, Reeve initially blamed himself for what happened. It was with the help of those closest to him that Reeve’s faith was restored, and he became determined to walk again and fight for increased spinal cord research.
While the film touches on Reeve’s years-long relationship with Gae Braxton, mother of two of his children, it’s the relationship afterward that becomes the film’s beating heart. An entirely separate documentary could be made about his wife, Dana Reeve, and how she instantly became the love of his life and mother to his entire family. More than that, when the injury occurred she became his rock. “You’re still you, and I love you,” she told him during those despondent months when Reeve was at his darkest point. It wasn’t easy on her, but it wasn’t something she could show publicly. How could she given what he was going through? Their children, William Reeve, Matthew Reeve, and Alexandra Reeve Givens all talk about the unique bond their parents had before the accident and after, especially when Reeve turned towards activism. Dana was always by his side, giving him the strength to fight for others as much as he fought for himself. And when he passed on, she kept that fight going with superhuman strength.
It’s to the filmmakers’ credit that the film never feels manipulative of the audience, or exploitative of its subjects. That said, the waterworks are going to flow so just be prepared for it. The final stretch of the film hit me hardest because I had forgotten so much. Reeve’s relationship with Williams is particularly devastating, especially if you recall the comedian’s speech at the Oscars following Reeve’s death in 2004. In an absolute gut punch moment, Glenn Close suggests that if Reeve were still alive, Williams might very well be, too. That’s how close these two best friends were. In another, Reeve and Dana’s youngest child talk about how alone he’s felt over the years. Dana would also tragically die, far too early, just two years after her husband.
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story is an indelible, achingly honest film about a man who was a superhero to millions, and whose legacy lives on nearly 30 years after his death. If there’s one thing to take away about Christopher Reeve after watching this incredible film, it’s that his true legacy was giving others the strength to overcome unbelievable tragedy and to help others do the same. A super movie about a super man, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story is a must-see doc for this awards season. Just keep Kleenex at the ready.
Fathom Events is showing Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story in theaters on September 25th.
