★★★★½ - THE POST
- You’d better believe – even the most hardened cinemagoer will cry -
While most people cite Superman and The Remains of the Day as their favourite Christopher Reeve performances, it is his turns in two 1980 movies that have stayed with me for almost 45 years.
Superman II was the stuff of literal nightmares for six-year-old me, as he battled Terence Stamp’s nefarious General Zod, while romantic-drama Somewhere in Time’s denouement was the most devastating thing I’d ever seen, as his Chicago playwright tries desperately (and vainly) to transport himself back to Jane Seymour’s actress, John Barry’s plaintive strings ripping your heart out as the penny drops for Richard Collier – and the audience.
Both benefited greatly from Reeve’s charisma, humanity and humbleness, traits that were also evident in his private life, as Ian Bonhôte & Peter Ettedgui’s (McQueen, Raising Phoenix) excellent and emotion-filled documentary shows.
Refreshingly though, this is no hagiography, family and friends assembled (including Reeve’s fellow thespians like Glenn Close, Jeff Daniels and Susan Sarandon) detailing how one of Hollywood’s most famous faces had his demons, doubts and wasn’t always the greatest partner – or Dad.
And although it touches on all aspects of his life and career, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story hones in on the impact on two pivotal moments: him being chosen (ahead of everyone from Robert Redford, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Diamond and Bruce Jenner) to wear the cape (and glasses) in Richard Donner’s “risky” 1978 superhero movie and the equestrian accident that left him paralysed in 1995.
Rather than following events chronologically, Bonhôte and Ettedgui flit back and forth, letting the rich archival material and modern-day interviews set the tone and pacing.
While the intimate insights into his home life with wife Dana and three children (from two relationships) are heartwarming and a testament to the power and ubiquitousness of home video cameras in the 1990s, it’s actually the tales from his acting and riding exploits that really compel.
You’ll learn how Reeve was originally allergic to horses, what he thought of Marlon Brando, how he took training advice from Darth Vader himself (English actor and bodybuilder Dave Prowse) and his father’s disappointment at the news that he wasn’t actually starring in a production of George Bernard Shaw’s 1903 play Man or Superman.
Then there’s how he met the mother of two of his children Gae Exton in the on-set catering queue and his increasing disappointment in the Superman sequels.
His deep friendship with his Juilliard School room-mate Robin Williams is also explored, Close expressing the heartfelt and tearful belief that if Reeve had still been around in 2014, “Robin would still be with us”.
That’s just one of the many moments that will have you reaching to dry your eyes, especially as Reeve’s children deliver their memories of the accident and its immediate aftermath, the inspiration and controversy (mainly because of his unwavering initial belief that he would walk again and obsession with finding “tommorrow’s cure” for paraplegia) surrounding his establishment of what is now known as the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and testimony of his last few hours on October 10, 2004.
You’d better believe – even the most hardened cinemagoer will cry.
- James Croot, THE POST
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story is now playing at Light House Cinema!