Review

Review Date: 31-July-05
Spoiler Rating: Low
Juju Judgment: Juicy

Murderball (2005)

It's something I have been thinking a lot about lately: the power of a medical catastrophe or near-death experience to jolt people into a true understanding of Horace's famous dictum, carpe diem: seize the motherfucking day while you can. I find it sad that most people with sound bodies and uneventful lives can't comprehend the urgency of this idea (myself included), so I have an awful respect for the lucky (?) ones who have reason to grasp it fully. The documentary "Murderball" is their story.

The movie grew out of a newspaper article about quadriplegic rugby (aka "murderball") and follows a group of wheelchair-bound American athletes as they prepare for the 2004 Paralympics in Athens. With one notable exception, the players are lovable, lusty lads who deflect all common conceptions about poor disabled souls and their cute little dreams of being special. Most of these guys were tough-living rabble-rousers before they were partially paralyzed and continue to be so afterward. For example, the fun-loving Hogsett broke his neck during a fist fight on a friend's patio, while the straight-shooting Mark Zupan was thrown out of a pickup truck into a canal, stone drunk, and spent almost 14 hours clinging to a branch before receiving medical treatment. Having gotten over the obstacle of hoping to walk again, they now take and relish all the pleasure they can get: competing hard, having fun, wooing women, and refusing to be saddled with their own regret or anyone else's pity.

Lest the tougher guys make life-affirming spirit look easy, filmmakers Henry Alex Rubin and Dana Adam Shapiro also highlight other men whose grit is a work in progress. Much of the movie's run time is devoted to Joe Soares, a former U.S. rugby star who went to coach the Canadians after a nasty parting from the American team. Joe is undeniably a prick — rude, insecure, and bullying — so he makes a good rival for the Paralympic showdown. At the same time, however, he's somewhat sympathetic in his never-ending drive to overcome a childhood marked by an abusive father and a crippling case of polio. (His relationship with his own son is both disturbing and fascinating to watch.) In addition to Joe, the movie offers two stories that run parallel to Mark Zupan's life, one which explores the lingering guilt of his best friend, the driver of the fateful pickup (who, by the bye, is wrong to call the tragedy an "accident" since he was driving drunk), and the other which traces the convalescence of a young motocross rider who might also find renewed purpose in rugby.

"Murderball" may not be the best title for a film that celebrates life and perseverance more than death and capitulation, but it captures the kick-ass exuberance of its dedicated and inspirational subjects. While most "portraits of courage" induce nausea (at least in my treacle-resistent constitution), this movie is a refreshingly unsentimental tribute to men who embody life's most important lesson despite their debilitated limbs.

Copyright © 2005 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.