In 1959, a generation was shocked and saddened at the news of the sudden death of actor George reeves. For young and old, he was the superhero character he played on television, the Man of Steel, Superman. And the darkly ironic circumstances of his death by gunshot struck a particularly grim chord that resonated for years. Thirty-six years later, another actor who had become synonymous with the role of Superman for new generations of fans, suffered a life-altering tragedy when on May 27, 1995 he was thrown from his horse while in a riding competition, resulting in a broken neck that would leave him a quadriplegic for the rest of his life. And while there was the dark coincidence of two actors with similar surnames best known for the same role having such tragic fates befall them, Reeve survived his accident. Rather than let that it define him in such a negative way, he forged a new path for his life that could be viewed as just as heroic, if not more so, as any character he played on screen. That story is told in the new documentary Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, getting a limited theatrical release this weekend, playing this Saturday and Sunday, September 21st and 22nd and the following Wednesday, September 25th.
Super/Man uses copious amounts of home video and news footage to tell Reeve’s life story leading up to his accident and how his life changed afterwards. This supplements the talking head interviews with his three children as well as a number of the actor’s colleagues and friends such as Glenn Close, Susan Sarandon and Jeff Daniels. The result paint a picture of Reeve as both family man and an actor well-liked by his peers. Directors Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui (2018’s McQueen) structure the story as two separate timelines – Reeve’s early years leading to his instant fame as the star of 1977’s Superman: The Movie and his accident and slow rebuilding of his life afterwards. This construction does indeed reinforce the dramatic irony of his injury but it also draws an interesting parallel between his struggles as an actor wanting to be seen as more than just the famed superhero on screen and his work at redefining his post-accident life.
Overall, Bonhôte and Ettedgui have crafted Reeve’s story into an emotional journey, with the use of past interview quotes from Reeve himself helping to propel the story along. Reeve, who we are shown as an active parent with his children, talks about the difficult transition from being an active participant in their lives to being an observer. He admits that in his earliest days recovering in the hospital all he did was “lay on my back, frozen, thinking the darkest thoughts.” But it was when his wife Dana tells him “You are still you,” that Reeve turns from self-pity onto a positive track. Once he is moved from the hospital to a rehabilitation unit, Reeve is visiting with the other patients there who have similar injuries, offering encouragement and friendship as he himself went through the same rehab process. Reeve continued on this path for the rest of his life, advocating for spinal cord injury research while living the example that just because one suffers from such an injury doesn’t mean that they can’t still live a full and productive life.
I was nine when Superman: The Movie came out and it is one of the indelible cinematic experiences from my formative years. Heck, I can still remember when I was sitting in a barber shop while my dad was getting a haircut and seeing for the first time an ad on TV for the film. So maybe it is hard for me to be truly objective about Reeve’s life, as his work certainly means much to me. Maybe the inspirational way he chose to continue with his life post-accident strikes me as more heroic, as his portrayal of Superman helped to define for me what a hero was. And in a world where those who play our heroes don’t always live up to the standards set by the characters they’ve portrayed. But even without a similar attachment to Reeve’s work to serve as a filter for someone watching this film, I don’t see how they could fail to be moved by Reeve’s story and perhaps even reflect on what their idea of a hero is.