PLOT: The true story of Judith Heumann (Ruth Madeley), known as the “mother of the Disability Rights Movement,” and how she organized and led a twenty-five-day sit-in to protest the refusal of U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare Joseph Califano (Mark Ruffalo) to sign regulations related to the landmark Rehabilitation Act.
REVIEW: Of all the movies I saw remotely at festivals during the COVID-19 era, when in-person fests were cancelled in favor of online-only editions, probably the only film that really managed to capture the excitement one expects from a film festival was Sian Heder’s CODA, which eventually won the Academy Award for Best Picture. It’s taken Heder more than five years to premiere her follow-up, but just like her last film, it’s an inspirational crowd-pleaser that should strike a chord, especially with disabled audiences, who remain underrepresented on the big screen.
Judith Heumann, the subject of Heder’s film, is a giant in the disability rights community, and she made it her mission to help secure legislation that changed the way the United States treated disabled people, helping guarantee fundamental civil rights that had long been denied to them. While this is a principle most of us can get behind nowadays, in another era, simple accommodations such as adding wheelchair ramps to public buildings and making sidewalks and public spaces accessible were often considered impractical or too expensive. Heumann was one of the people who changed things for the better, and Heder gives her the biopic she deserves.
Just a few years ago, this likely would have been considered a showcase role for an A-list actress, with the part potentially going to a non-disabled performer. But Heder, who cast Deaf actors to great effect in CODA, has once again cast her film as authentically as possible. The cast is largely composed of disabled actors, all of whom are excellent, and is led by Ruth Madeley as Heumann.
While Heumann is an inspirational figure, Heder’s movie keeps her relatable and human, with Heumann occasionally prickly and prone to steamrolling some of her more soft-spoken colleagues. But a forceful woman like Heumann was exactly what the movement needed, and Madeley plays her with a good degree of humor, righteous anger, and determination. She’s ably supported by other disabled actors, with Madeline Delp a standout as Kitty Cone, another, more soft-spoken activist who also became a landmark figure in the movement.
While Mark Ruffalo’s Joseph A. Califano is technically the antagonist, the film doesn’t portray him as a bad man, with it noted that he did a lot of good during his time in government, even if his unwillingness to sign the regulations, due to concerns about the enormous expense, is something many warn him will taint his legacy. Ruffalo plays him as aggressive and impatient, but still ultimately sympathetic. Dylan O’Brien is also excellent as a newsman who ends up covering the protest. While initially an opportunist, he finds himself won over by the cause, becoming a strong advocate for its success.
Being Heumann is making its world premiere at TIFF before hitting theaters in a limited run in November, followed by its debut on Apple TV+. It’s being positioned as a potential Oscar contender by the streamer, and it’s not hard to imagine Madeley earning a nod. It will no doubt be a movie well-loved by festival audiences here at TIFF and a worthwhile film about an important and often overlooked chapter of American history that deserves to be better known. But more than that, it’s entertaining without being overly didactic and thoroughly enjoyable, just like Heder’s last film.
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