New documentary Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story is guaranteed to make you weep, as it explores the life of the legendary actor, including the time after a tragic horse riding accident left him paralyzed from the neck down. There are happy tears too though as we see him take on the role of the Man of Steel and find new joys in becoming a disability activist.
Ultimately, it’s a very emotional movie, so make sure you bring tissues, which will most certainly be needed during the most affecting scene of the entire film.
Although the focus is very much on Reeve, we also learn about his wife Dana, who became one of his caregivers until his death in 2004. Tragically, ten months later Dana was diagnosed with lung cancer, leading to her death in 2006.
At one point in the movie their son Will Reeve, who currently works as a journalist in the US, reads out an extract from one of Dana’s journals. The heartbreaking poem she penned details a time she went to bring her ill husband towels, soon realizing by the time she reached his bedside the top one was soaked wet through with tears.
It’s an incredibly affecting scene, as we get a glimpse at the emotional toll Dana must have faced as a caregiver. The powerful moment almost wasn’t in the film, though, with Will stumbling upon the poem the night before filming his interview for the documentary.
He had no knowledge of it beforehand, as Will tells GamesRadar+: “It was a piece of paper that fell out of one of her journals that I was flipping through the night before. I wanted to make sure I had all the facts correct for the interview, and that I was in the right emotional space to share all of myself, and then this piece of paper fell out. I read the poem and I was like ‘wow, this is heavy’ but it was exactly in line with my intentions here, bringing all of myself from the deepest, darkest corners.”
Continuing, Will also emphasizes that during the movie he wanted to make sure he paid tribute to his mother, as well as his father, and saw reading this poem as the perfect way to do so: “I felt that, in service of the family story, that mattered to give. I care so much about giving my mom a voice at every opportunity and giving her her flowers, because she deserves them. So this was important to include, including for me on a personal leave to read it. I think the filmmakers turned it into a really meaningful part in the documentary that says so much.”
Although Dana’s story is partly told in this feature as we see her life with Reeve, Will admits that he would love to see her get her own documentary one day. That’s how important she is, not just to him but to other caregivers, as he concludes: “There is no Christopher Reeve story without the Dana Reeve story. She was like the sun. She was thrust into this new role as a caregiver navigating this terrifying new reality and there was no handbook. Now today, there exists a literal handbook in hospitals and rehab centers because of her. That’s a tangible legacy! As far as on a personal level, she should get her own documentary!”
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve story is out in US and UK theaters now.
For more, check out the upcoming superhero movies that will soon be heading your way.