Disability Happens ™

by Joe Posner 

In the 1990s, various films debuted with disabled characters. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the roles tended to be played by able bodied actors, and the portrayals weren’t always positive.

First up, “The Waterdance.” Released in 1992, it was written by Neal Jimenez and directed by Jimenez & Michael Steinberg. “The Waterdance” starred Eric Stoltz, Helent Hunt, Wesley Snipes and William Forsythe.

“The Waterdance” tells the story of Joel Garcia (Stoltz) , a writer who receives a bad back injury while hiking in the mountains. As a result, he’s paralyzed from the waist down. While in rehab, he meets some memorable disabled characters including Raymond Hill (Snipes), a self-proclaimed ladies’ man and Bloss (William Forsythe) a hard living biker. Joel/Stoltz gets frequent visits from his quasi-girlfriend Anna (Hunt) who’s inconveniently married to someone else.

In the course of several months, Joel’s condition gradually improves, helped in part by a kind of aqua therapy called “waterdance.” Eventually, Joel recovers entirely. While somewhat unlikely, it’s a great tool for bringing the viewer into the film, allowing one to experience what it might be like to be (temporarily) disabled.

“The Waterdance” received an award at the 1992 Sundance Film Festival. While not huge at the box office in its initial theatrical release, it was well reviewed by critics.

Next up, “The Usual Suspects.” Released in 1995, “The Usual Suspects” was written by Christopher McQuarrie and directed by Bryan Singer. The cast included Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Kevin Spacey, Stephen Baldwin, Kevin Pollak and Benicio del Toro.

The bulk of the film unfolds as Roger “Verbal” Kint (Spacey) , now in custody, is questioned by David Kujan (Palminteri), a U.S. customs agent. Kint/Spacey is one of two survivors of a fire, and multiple murders, on the waterfront.

The convoluted story, told mostly in flashback, concerns a series of events which took place prior to wholesale slaughter and a fire on a ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles. The film was shot on location in Los Angeles, San Pedro and New York.

Spacey’s Verbal Kint is a low-level criminal with cerebral palsy. Kint/Spacey is creepy and deceitful. Joe Clark, in his “The Usual Suspects: Not the usual crime drama,” calls, The Usual Suspects…the most feverishly anti-crip movie of the last 20 years. While Clark’s language is cruel and non-PC, his commentary is accurate nonetheless.

This is the film that catapulted director Singer and actor Spacey to fame and fortune. Spacey won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, bigger roles and a second Oscar in 1999. Singer went on to direct mega-hits like the first two “X-Men” movies and “Superman Returns.”

One giant step forward for their careers, one giant step backward for the depiction of disability on the silver screen!

Category : Film