In an era when studios are shuffling too much of their material to streaming, it might seem churlish to wonder why a perfectly decent documentary is making its way into commercial cinemas. But this documentary on Christopher Reeve, the actor and (more importantly here) disability campaigner, really is the sort of thing – interesting without breaking new ground – you would expect to encounter surfing late at night around the arts channels.
There is no arguing with the story. Born to a patrician father who didn’t approve of his acting, Reeve, then largely unknown, gained instant fame when cast as the hero of Richard Donner’s Superman in 1978. The film tells us that Dad, initially believing the film to be a version of Shaw’s Man and Superman, was profoundly disappointed when he heard it was some comic-book adaptation. This was a long time before the DC Extended Universe, and nobody was sure the public would buy a hero in tights.
The film was a smash, and, until his death in 2004, Superman was one of the two things with which Reeve would be immediately associated. The other was his work campaigning for the disabled in general and for those with spinal injuries in particular. Following an equestrian accident in 1995, Reeve was paralysed from the neck down. He found new purpose lobbying for research and for better care for those who use wheelchairs.
The best argument in favour of Reeve’s character is the sincere affection of surviving family and friends. They allow that he was stubborn but also confirm that he could yield to reason. When, early in his campaigning, some complained he was too concerned with cure and not enough with day-to-day support, he was prepared to listen.
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All this is told through a conventional talking-heads format broken up with an intermittently successful computer-generated Reeve sparkling in the stratosphere.
There are some genuine surprises and many undeniable throat-catching moments. Glenn Close believes that Robin Williams would be with us still if Reeve, a close friend, had lived into the current decade. The footage of Reeve’s appearance at the 1996 Oscars remains moving. A worthy, if workmanlike, tribute.
In cinemas from Friday, November 1st
