Alexandra Reeve Givens, Dana Reeve, documentaries, film festivals, Gae Exton, Glenn Close, John Kerry, Ken Johnson, Matthew Manganiello, Matthew Reeve, movies, Pierre Spengler, reviews, Steven Kirshblum, Sundance, Sundance Film Festival, Superman, SuperMan: The Christopher Reeve Story, Susan Sarandon, Whoopi Goldberg, Will Reeve
September 21, 2024
by Carla Hay
“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story”
Directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui
Culture Representation: The documentary film “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” has a nearly all-white group of people (with one African American) who are connected in some way to actor Christopher Reeve and who talk about his life and career.
Culture Clash: American actor Christopher Reeve (who died in 2004, at the age of 52) achieved worldwide fame as the star of four “Superman” movies, but his life took an unexpected turn when a horse-riding accident left him with paralysis from the neck down, and he became a disability rights activist.
Culture Audience: “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of Reeve, superhero movies, celebrity biographies, and documentaries about inspirational people.
“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” is a moving tribute to his life and legacy, not only as an actor but also as influential activist for disability rights and medical care. This well-made documentary is sure to inspire repeat viewings. The movie doesn’t sugarcoat or downplay how difficult it was for Reeve to transition to being a disabled person after a horse-riding accident in 1995 left him with paralysis from the neck down. He died from infection complications n 2004, at the age of 52.
Directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui, “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. The movie is told in mostly chronological order and features archival voiceover narration from Christopher Reeve and his wife Dana Reeve, who died of lung cancer in 2006, at the age of 44. There is also a lot of expected archival footage of Reeve from his career and his personal life. The movie features interviews only with people who were close to him. Don’t expect any talking-head “expert” interviews examining the sociological impact of the “Superman” movies starring Reeve.
Even though Christopher was best known for his title role in four “Superman” movies that were released from 1978 to 1987, this part of his life is only a fraction of what’s covered in “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story.” Instead, this documentary is more interested in presenting a well-rounded portrait of a complicated man with an unpredictable life—someone who, with support from loved ones, chose to make the best out of a situation that would crush the souls of many other people who might experience similar things.
“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” also acknowledges that Christopher’s fame gave him certain privileges in medical care, although he was not as financially well-off as many people would assume that he was. More importantly, he used his fame to help others in his ongoing quest for civil rights, accessibility and medical care for disabled people. This activism included establishing the Christopher Reeve Foundation, which launched in 1982 as a funding center for spinal cord injury research and resources. In 2007, the non-profit group’s name was changed to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation.
People interviewed in the documentary include Christopher Reeve’s three children: Matthew Reeve, Alexandra Reeve Givens and Will Reeve. Other people interviewed include Christopher Reeve’s British former live-in girlfriend Gae Exton, the mother of Matthew and Alexandra; Christopher’s longtime friend/foundation executive director Matthew Manganiello; Christopher’s half-brother Ken Johnson; Christopher’s primary care provider Dr. Steven Kirshblum; “Superman” movie producer Pierre Spengler; politician John Kerry; actor Jeff Daniels; and actresses Glenn Close, Whoopi Goldberg and Susan Sarandon.
Most of the people who are interviewed describe Christopher Reeve (who was born in 1952 in New York City) as someone who was haunted and emotionally damaged from growing up in a fractured and dysfunctional family. His parents—Franklin (an intellectual scholar/writer) and Barbara—divorced in 1956 and went on to get married and divorced twice to other people. Christopher craved approval from his demanding father, who was never really impressed with Christopher’s work as an actor, even though Christopher graduated from the prestigious Juilliard School for performing arts.
A story told in the movie is that when Christopher told Franklin that he got the role of Superman, Franklin seemed to show rare approval because Franklin mistakenly thought that the role was for George Bernard Shaw’s play “Man and Superman.” When Franklin found out that the role was for a Superman movie based on the DC Comics character, his approval turned to disapproval and derision. Several other people looked down on the role and told Christoper that starring a “Superman” movie would damage his artistic credibility and ruin Christopher Reeve’s career, including William Hurt, who was co-starring with Christopher and Daniels in an off-Broadway play when Christopher found out that he got the role of Superman.
The 1978 “Superman” movie turned out to be a blockbuster, groundbreaking hit, long before superhero movies became a regular part of any year’s movie release schedule. It was also somewhat of a typecasting boundary for Christopher, who went to great lengths to play very different roles in non-“Superman” movies, such as a time-traveling playwright in 1980’s “Somewhere in Time”; a murder victim in 1982’s “Deathtrap” and a corrupt journalist in 1987’s “Street Smart.”
As a result of not having any good role models for a lasting and healthy marriage, Christopher spent years being suspicious of marriage and refused to get married. Exton (who was Christopher Reeve’s partner from 1978 to 1987) describes their whirlwind and passionate courtship soon after they met at a movie studio cafeteria in London. Christopher and Exton lived in England but his long-distance work schedule and entanglements with other women eventually took a toll on their relationship until Christopher broke up with her. Exton gets tearful in the documentary when she describes the end of their love affair.
Christopher changed his mind about marriage with Dana, a singer who was the mother of Will. Christopher and Dana’s courtship was very different from the courtship that Christopher had with Exton. In archival comments, Dana says she was reluctant to get involved with Chrstopher at first because of his playboy reputation. However, the spark between them was undeniable, and they ended becoming soul mates.
Dana and Christopher Reeve’s marriage was a true testament to sticking to the marriage vows “in sickness and in health.” After the horse-riding accident (which nearly severed his head from his body) it was uncertain if Christopher would live or die. Christopher’s mother thought he should be taken off of life support. Dana wanted Christopher to live but said he could make the final decision. And, as he says in an archival voiceover, Dana told him the words that made him want to live: “You’re still you. And I love you.”
As a father, Christopher went from being someone who put a lot of emphasis on athletic activities for family time (just like his own father did) to having to adjust to the painful reality that he couldn’t participate in the same physical activities that he was used to doing with his family. Instead, he learned to be more emotionally present for his family, who never abandoned him during his most difficult times, when shortly after his paralysis, he fell into a depression and wanted to be isolated from a lot of people in his life. Will’s perspective is perhaps the most heart-wrenching of Christopher’s three children because he lost both of his parents while he was still an underage child.
Perhaps one of the most poignant aspects of “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” is how it details the longtime friendship of Robin Williams and Christopher, who became fast friends while they attended Juilliard and who both achieved worldwide fame around the same time. Through the ups and downs of their lives, this friendship endured. Robin Williams and his second wife Marsha Garces Williams (who were married from 1989 to 2010) are given a lot of credit for helping the Reeve family during some tough times. Robin Williams had his own personal issues (substance abuse and depression), and he committed suicide in 2014, at the age of 63. Mutual friend Close says in the documentary that she believes Robin would still be alive if Christopher were still alive.
There are plenty of tearjerking moments throughout the documentary, but there are also many moments of joy and hope. The most important takeaway from “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” isn’t what fame, wealth and good luck can do for people but rather what people’s true characters are like when they are at the lowest points in their lives. They can ether wallow in self-pity and misery or do what Christopher Reeve did and turn his pain into something positive that helped other people. With or without a celebrity name, that is the definition of a true hero.
Warner Bros. Pictures and Fathom Events released “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” in U.S. cinemas for a limited engagement on September 21 and September 25, 2024. The movie will premiere on HBO and Max on a date to be announced.