'Gleason' documentary takes an inspirational look at football player with ALS
If you were told you had a crippling terminal illness, how would you choose to live out the rest of your life?
In the case of Steve Gleason - a former football player diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in 2011 - the answer is: with a greater appreciation for the time left.
As a safety for the New Orleans Saints, Gleason is best known for blocking a punt against the Atlanta Falcons during a 2006 home game at the Superdome, 13 months after Hurricane Katrina.
That play felt like rebirth for the team and for the city, and footage of Gleason's gridiron exploits show seemingly boundless physical energy. That makes the disease's effects all the more cruel.
Three years after retiring from the NFL, Gleason, then 34, received back-to-back bombshells. Within weeks of a diagnosis of Lou Gehrig's disease, he learned that his wife Michel was pregnant.
Concerned that he may never be able to have a conversation with his son, Gleason began to record a video diary to share as much of himself as possible.
This footage makes up the heart of the film, which director Clay Tweel ("Finders Keepers") has shaped into a narrative about the strength of the human spirit.
In fictional films, a letter from a dying parent can be a heartbreaking narrative device.
In a documentary, it's even more powerful. So much so that Gleason's generosity in revealing himself occasionally feels like exploitation.
The movie allows us to watch its subject slowly die, as Gleason loses more and more control of his muscles.
This uncomfortably intimate film doesn't spare the viewer from the difficulties experienced by Gleason and his family. As Gleason struggles to maintain his religious faith, his father Mike questions his son's beliefs.
In one emotionally grueling episode, Mike takes his reluctant son to a faith healer with disastrous results. We also see Gleason's marriage buffeted by the stress of his illness. As the couple's life together becomes a regimen of around-the-clock care, we witness the physical and emotional toll.
Yet, Gleason's determination to find meaning in his suffering is inspiring. On a trip to Alaska soon after the diagnosis, Gleason's video journal captures a mix of anxiety and hope against a backdrop of a rugged landscape.
In his quest for purpose, Gleason has started a charitable foundation to enable other ALS patients to take trips and to pay for specialized equipment that medical insurers refuse to cover.
"Gleason" portrays great strength and great suffering in equal measure, lending vivid credence to tired platitudes about what it means to live life to the fullest.
“Gleason”
★ ★ ★
Directed by: Clay Tweel
Other: An Open Road release. At the River East and Century Centre in Chicago, plus the Evanston Century 18. Rated R for language. 110 minutes