Michael's Movie Grade: A
A beautifully touching documentary on the great actor and person Cristopher Reeve.
To me Chistopher Reeve will always be Superman and Superman: The Movie (1978) will always be the greatest superhero movie ever made. However, there is much more to Cristopher Reeve than having played the most iconic superhero in four movies. That is what this documentary explores. It especially looks at his life after his horseback riding accident that left him paralyzed. How at first this almost broke him and how it would eventually lead him to become a major activist for people with disabilities. While many documentaries would end with this ruining a promising career, Reeve was too strong of a man to even let this keep him down. The movie goes into depth about he remained a present force in the world, whether through his appearances at the Oscars and commercials, films made behind the camera (and even one in front), his drive to speak to political figures (of any party) about taking care of our disabled or The Christopher Reeve foundation which continues to help countless people with disabilities to this day. Yet this film does not come off as simply a fluff piece. It also takes a real human look at who Christopher Reeve was. It does not completely overlook his flaws, while still showing a highly sympathetic look at the man. In fact, with the flaws, we can see how after the accident he even matured quite a bit as a husband and a father. The most touching scenes in the movie are when his sons and daughter talk about him. During these scenes not only can we see how much they truly loved him (and still do), but we begin to feel a bit of that love for him ourselves. Also, incredibly touching are the scenes where the focus turns to his friendship with Robin Williams. This is truly a beautiful friendship that goes much deeper than two guys who simply liked to spend time with each other.
The focus may not be on his acting career, but the moments dedicated to this (including of course about his role as Superman) are quite insightful and fun to listen to.
This is a beautiful portrait of a great man.
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