Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story is a 2024 documentary film about the life of American actor Christopher Reeve after a horse riding accident left him paralyzed, and his subsequent work as an activist for disability rights. The documentary was directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui, who co-wrote the script with Otto Burnham; its title is a reference to Reeve's role as Superman in the 1978–1987 Superman films. Reeve's children Alexandra Reeve Givens, Matthew Reeve, and Will Reeve are featured in the film.
A British-American venture, the film is a co-production by Words + Pictures, Passion Pictures, and Misfits Entertainment in association with Jenco Films, and was acquired for distribution by Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, HBO Documentary Films, CNN Films, and the streaming service Max. Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story premiered on January 19, 2024, at the Sundance Film Festival, and received a limited theatrical release in collaboration with Fathom Events in the United States on September 21 and 25, 2024. The film was wide released in North America on October 11. It received universal acclaim from critics and audiences alike, and was named one of the top five documentary films of 2024 by the National Board of Review. Among other accolades, it won the Best Documentary award at the British Academy Film Awards and the Producers Guild of America, and six awards at the Critics' Choice Documentary Awards (including Best Documentary Feature).
The story is presented in a non-linear narrative, alternating between before and after Reeve's horse-riding accident.
Reeve has a difficult childhood, with his parents divorcing at a young age and his family tree being complicated due to his parents' several remarriages, and he has a particularly strained relationship with his father, Franklin. Reeve is studying at the Juilliard School and becomes close friends with his classmate Robin Williams. Superman begins casting for its titular hero, and despite offers from several celebrities interested in the film, director Richard Donner wants an unknown actor to play him. Reeve auditions and wins the role despite disapproval from his father and peers.
During filming, he meets British modeling agent Gae Exton, with whom he begins a whirlwind romance. Superman is released in 1978 and becomes a massive success, with Reeve unanimously praised, solidifying him into a movie star. This success continues with Superman II (1980). However, the recognition he receives for his portrayal of Superman hinders Reeve's career outside the franchise. Reeve lives in London with Exton, who gives birth to Matthew and Alexandra. He is unsatisfied with his career, only agreeing to star in Superman III (1983) and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) out of obligation. Matthew admits that his father was frequently absent and wouldn't commit due to his upbringing. Reeve and Exton separate in 1987.
Five months after his breakup with Exton, Reeve meets singer and actress Dana Morosini. The two begin dating and Reeve eventually overcomes his hesitance about marriage and proposes to Dana. They marry in April 1992 and their son Will is born in June that same year. Dana is a caring mother figure to both Matthew and Alexandra. On May 27, 1995, Reeve falls from his horse, suffering a spinal cord injury that paralyzes him from the neck down. He muses that he has ruined his family's life, but Dana reassures him, "You're still you, and I love you." He receives support from friends and family, especially Williams, who helps him laugh for the first time since the accident. Reeve is recovering at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation where he befriends other disabled people. At home, Dana and a team of nurses care for him around the clock. With the help of a large van purchased by Williams and his then-wife Marsha, Reeve travels to Los Angeles and makes an appearance at the 68th Academy Awards, where he receives a standing ovation.
Having been an activist for social causes for most of his life, Reeve begins using his platform to advocate for disabled people and spinal cord injury research, speaking at several major events, such as the Democratic National Convention. He starts the Christopher Reeve Foundation that would open centers, lobby for several bills, and advocate for stem cell research. Reeve regains the ability to make small bodily movements, but he can't wean off the ventilator completely. The Williamses hold annual parties at Reeve's house on the anniversary of his accident to celebrate life. Reeve makes his directorial debut with In the Gloaming (1997) and also directs The Brooke Ellison Story (2004) about fellow quadriplegic Brooke Ellison.
Reeve and his family reflect on how close and fulfilling their relationship has become after his accident. On October 9, 2004, mere hours after Will's hockey game, Reeve falls into a coma and is hospitalized, ultimately dying at the age of 52. Alexandra and Will tearfully recount witnessing their father's death, while Matthew is in a taxi on the way to the hospital when he hears of his father's passing. Reeve is mourned around the world by fans and those he had helped through his activism. Dana succeeds her late husband as chairman of the foundation and continues pursuing her passion for singing, but she is later diagnosed with lung cancer. Dana dies on March 6, 2006, at the age of 44, leaving Will an orphan at 13 years old.
Matthew, Alexandra, and Will join the foundation shortly afterward as board members, intending to carry on Reeve and Dana's legacy. The foundation is renamed the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, and several modern-day breakthroughs and milestones involving paralysis research are attributed to Reeve and Dana's activism.
In addition to featuring footage of Christopher Reeve and Dana Reeve, the film also features Reeve's children Alexandra Reeve Givens, Matthew Reeve, and Will Reeve. Other interviewees included Reeve's half-brother Kevin Johnson, Reeve's former partner and Matthew and Alexandra's mother Gae Exton, actors Jeff Daniels, Susan Sarandon, Glenn Close, and Whoopi Goldberg, politician John Kerry, activist Brooke Ellison, Superman producer Pierre Spengler, former Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation Senior Vice President of Government Relations Michael Manganiello, Kessler Institute chief medical officer Dr. Steven Kirshblum, and Reeve's assistant Laurie Hawkins. Archive interview footage of Superman director Richard Donner and Reeve's close friend and comedian Robin Williams are included. Narration by Reeve is taken from his audiobooks Still Me and Nothing Is Impossible.
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story had its world premiere at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center in Salt Lake City, Utah for the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2024, followed by a post-screening Q&A session with the film's directors, Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui, and with Reeve's children. The following month, DC Comics owner Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) acquired the worldwide theatrical and home media release rights to the documentary for $15 million, and worked with DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran and its corporate siblings Warner Bros. Pictures, HBO Documentary Films, CNN Films, and the streaming service Max to do so. The sale was represented by film financing company Cinetic Media.
At the April 2024 CinemaCon, Safran announced that the documentary would be theatrically released in September 2024, under the Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, HBO, and CNN labels. The following month, it was announced that the documentary would have a limited theatrical release on September 21 and 25, 2024, in collaboration with Fathom Events, although, there was a potential for a wide release. September 25, 2024, the day the film received a second theatrical release, was chosen as the date for an encore presentation because it would have been Reeve's 72nd birthday. The film received a wide release in North America on October 11, 2024, followed by international releases in late 2024, including in the United Kingdom on November 1. It was subsequently made available on other platforms, starting in the United States where it aired on HBO on December 7 and was made available for streaming on Max, and in the United Kingdom where it was broadcast on Sky UK and streaming on Now starting on December 28.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 98% of 105 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "An affectionate retrospective on Christopher Reeve's bravery and heroism in his own personal life, Super/Man takes to the skies in inspirational uplift." On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 76 out of 100 from 21 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare average grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale.
Screen Daily film critic Amber Wilkinson wrote, "The life and work of Superman star Christopher Reeve is framed and largely recounted by his family and friends in Ian Bonhote and Peter Ettedgui's increasingly moving documentary." Monica Castillo of RogerEbert.com described it as "Easily my big festival cry, something that moves you so deeply that the combination of sleep deprivation, altitude, and the movie's subject makes it almost impossible not to get emotional."
Adele spoke highly of the documentary at one of her concerts.