Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
The makers of ‘McQueen’ triumph again with a superb documentary on the beloved activist and superstar.
Image courtesy of Warner Bros.
The documentary McQueen, a biopic about the fashion designer Alexander McQueen, appeared in 2018 and stands out as one of the best films of its kind ever made. Movies of that genre rarely have the depth to be found in the best published biographies but that one did and I immediately made note of the names of its co-directors Ian Bonhȏte and Peter Ettedgui. Both men had already established themselves in cinema as writers and producers and Bonhȏte had directed a feature film on his own but it was this joint endeavour which brought both of them their highest acclaim to date. They would work together again in 2020 on a film about the Paralympic games entitled Rising Phoenix which was also well received. Consequently, I approached their latest work, this documentary about the actor Christopher Reeve, anxious to discover if they could come close to repeating the triumph of their earlier films. They have.
The late Christopher Reeve, who died at the age of fifty-two in 2006, was of course an actor best known for his role in the four Superman films made between 1978 and 1987 and those who admired him for that will doubtless want to see this biopic. But those who are not in that category – and indeed anybody who knows little of the actor – will surely find this a thoroughly engaging film nevertheless. The reason for that lies in Reeve’s later years when he became an inspirational figure following a tragic accident in 1995 when he was thrown from a horse and was expected to die. In the event he lived but was paralysed from the neck down and became an ardent advocate championing stem cell research and becoming in himself an inspiration to others suffering from spinal cord injuries and the like.
In the making of this film Christopher Reeve's family have been hugely involved. Indeed, his three children play prominent roles here as does his partner Gae Exton who was the mother of Matthew Reeve and Alexandra Reeve Givens. Later footage includes home videos featuring Dana Morosini whom he met subsequently and who was the mother of his younger son, Will Reeve. As Christopher Reeve’s widow, she outlived him but only for a short time before she was struck down by cancer. What happened in 1995 effectively divided Christopher Reeve’s life into two parts but the filmmakers (and let it be noted that whereas Peter Ettedgui had the sole writing credit on McQueen here Ian Bonhôte and Otto Burnham are credited as co-writers) have made the decision not to tell his story in chronological order. By going back-and-forth in time and doing it so adroitly that it never becomes confusing or exasperating the film achieves an effective variety in its telling of Reeve’s story yet it also successfully brings out the shape his life took by showing how his accident led to a positive transformation in Reeve’s character.
The involvement of the family might have led to a film which for all of Reeve’s bravery in his later years was too close to hagiography. But instead this is a film which makes one come to like and admire all of the family and all the more so because they are willing to speak frankly. One comes to see the irony in the fact that, while Christopher Reeve’s own unhappy childhood caused him to wish to be a better parent to his own children, the way in which his acting career took off would often make him an absent father. The archive material included here enables us to hear Reeve himself acknowledging his own shortcomings including those leading to the break up with Gae Exton while the failed relationships of his own parents help to explain why for so long Christopher Reeve was averse to the idea of marrying.
If the contributors from the family are ultimately the ones that count most, there are also useful comments from actors who were friends. Susan Sarandon, Jeff Daniels, Whoopi Goldberg and Glenn Close contribute, the latter stressing the remarkable lifelong bond between Reeve and Robin Williams who first met as students. But, if much of that suggests standard material, the adroitness of the editing here, including the way in which the words of the interviewees are spread out and divided up, makes for a wonderfully lively film. Details of the acting career are neatly sketched in including the way in which the casting of the Superman role was decided not only by Reeve’s impact on auditioning but by the belief of the filmmakers that the part would work best with a virtually unknown actor.
Save for the fact that Christopher Reeve’s two appearances in Merchant Ivory productions are ignored, his other work on stage and screen and his later role as a director get sufficient mention, but the film rightly gives pride of place to the years after the accident. Here two things emerge strongly. One is the way in which becoming paralysed made Reeve, previously somewhat self-centred, develop a growing concern for others similarly incapacitated, one that made him more outward-looking generally. He thus achieved a growth in his own character all the more remarkable for someone in his situation. The other key element is the revelation of what a splendid woman Dana Reeve was as wife and mother. Ultimately this film is moving not only as a tribute to Christopher Reeve but as one to Dana Reeve too.
Regardless of whatever other parts Christopher Reeve took on, the role of Superman was inescapably associated with him and, whether or not it became something of an albatross for the actor, it may have encouraged Bonhȏte and Ettedgui to incorporate not infrequent stylised shots of a statue of Reeve in Superman mode sometimes covered in kryptonite. This is the one detail that is perhaps a questionable choice. But, that apart, this is an outstanding and touching documentary, one that does credit both to the filmmakers and to the Reeve family as a whole.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Featuring Matthew Reeve, Alexandra Reeve Givens, Will Reeve, Gae Exton, Glenn Close, Steven Kirshblum, John Kerry, Brooke Ellison, Susan Sarandon, Jeff Daniels, Whoopi Goldberg, Kevin Johnson, Michael Manganiello, Pierre Spengler, Laurie Hawkins, and archive footage of Christopher Reeve and Dana Reeve.
Dir Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui, Pro Lizzie Gillett, Robert Ford and Ian Bonhôte, Screenplay Peter Ettedgui with Ian Bonhôte and Otto Burnham, Ph Brett Wiley, Ed Otto Burnham, Music Ilan Eshkeri.
DC Studios/CNN Films/Words + Pictures/Passion Pictures/Misfits Entertainment/Jenco Films-Warner Bros. Pictures.
104 mins. UK/USA. 2024. US Rel: 21 September 2024. UK Rel: 1 November 2024. Cert. 12A.
