David T. Williams

When the Dealer/Provider editor asked me to do a review of the movie Murderball, I reminded him that a review is an opinion and must be written as such. I have seen Murderball three times and the best I can give it is a mixed review.

It is important to remember that this film won an award at the Sundance Film Festival as a documentary, not as a candidate for “best picture” honors like the one given to Clint Eastwood’s controversial movie, Million Dollar Baby. While the subject and the “characters” are OK, the sound and videography leave much to be desired. The pace of the movie is good, and it contains moments of humor, lots of action, and a thread of human drama that holds it together.

Murderball chronicles the preparation of two top quad rugby teams as they prepare and ultimately compete in the sport’s most prestigious games, the Paralympic Gold Medal Game and the “World Cup” 2 years later. Woven into the story is the relationship between two top players of the game—one of whom was removed from his position as US team coach after losing to Team Canada. As you would expect, he is angry with the national association governing the sport—the United States Quad Rugby Association (USQRA)—and seeks revenge as coach and captain of Team Canada. A bitter rivalry develops between the two teams and their respective coaches who were once teammates and best friends.

Incidental to the storyline is the depiction of many aspects of what it is like to live with quadriplegia. The film is tastefully laced with scenes and dialogue about such things as catheterization, quad sex, and attendant care. Despite the fact that marketers have focused on the quad sex to obtain a coveted R rating, the film is not repulsive, even though some of the locker room language borders on overkill.

It is interesting to see the spectrum of opinions from other reviewers around the country. Far too many reviewers feel they must be “inspired” by the accomplishments of the quadriplegics in the movie. Quite the opposite is true. The players on both teams want only to be recognized as serious athletes committed to their sport. Nonetheless, Jerry Lewis has set the standard, and there is a long line waiting to pat the crippled kid on the head.

All that being said, I give Murderball one thumb up for being a well-done documentary that does not exploit the disabilities of its subjects and provides a true depiction of both quad rugby and the people who play it. So why am I not praising this film as another breakthrough in the struggle for disability rights and acceptance?

Why My Other Thumb is Down
Without a doubt, quad rugby is a full contact sport. However, anyone who has seen a quad rugby game will tell you that there is much more finesse to the game than the movie depicts. Additionally, quad rugby is a team sport. The way it is depicted would have you believe that victory rests on the shoulders of one or two superstars who are willing to sacrifice their bodies to score.

Most quad rugby players in both Canada and the United States are regular people who go to work every day and find quad rugby to be good exercise and a great way to make friends, friends who face the frustrations of disability every day. They play for fun and can not afford to risk further injury or disability in the way the movie suggests quad rugby players do.

Another concern about the movie has to do with the impression it leaves not on the average audience, but on the high number of young children with disabilities who are likely to see it. Murderball does little to promote the idea of sportsmanship or team spirit. Nor does the movie emphasize the importance of education and goal setting that is so desperately needed during the formative years of all children—especially disabled children. After seeing the movie, one young wheelchair tennis player I know said, “Maybe that is my problem on the court. I’m just not being mean enough.”

The Ticket to Success?
Just as the lure of lucrative professional sports contracts makes it hard for children of poverty to focus on getting a good education, Murderball has the potential to convince disabled children that sports are the only way to be “successful” in the world. In the United States, the only disabled athletes who make any money are a few with endorsement contracts who use a particular company’s wheelchair. Typical stipends are usually not even enough to cover travel expenses. And I don’t know any athletes who can support themselves, much less a family, on what they get from wheelchair sports.

Totally missed in the film is the fact that wheelchair sports in general are in trouble. National organizations that started out with the mission of promoting sport, recreation, and exercise at the community level have evolved into handmaidens whose major purpose is to serve a small number of elite athletes. The USQRA collects dues from fewer than 100 community teams and is doing little or nothing to help new teams get started.

They are not alone in this position. The major activity of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) is to sponsor large tournaments for a handful of top teams while doing little to help or support the development of new teams at the community level. In fact, there are fewer teams in the NWBA today than there were 10 years ago. Like the USQRA, the NWBA directs too much of their time and money on the National Team and not enough at the local level. The same can be said for wheelchair track and field and other sports.

Promoters of wheelchair sports events often wonder why there is little if any public interest in seeing these athletes at work. Even though the International Olympic Committee now requires host countries to conduct and promote Paralympic Games, there is little, if any, coverage of these events by the mainstream media. People don’t know about wheelchair sports, don’t understand how they are played, and don’t know how intense the competition is at the elite level.

Murderball won the Audience award at Sundance because it covered an unknown activity and focused on the controversial relationship between two unique individuals. The sight of wheelchairs crashing together, disabled individuals flying across the floor, and the yelling and screaming that are characteristic of quad rugby is enticing. So is professional wrestling.

The Sundance award will provide Murderball with more exposure and probably result in it being screened in many more cities than it otherwise would have. Those are good things and probably deserved. However, I would like to see an ambitious documentary film-maker do a popular movie that conveys a positive image of people with disabilities in everyday life.

All rehabilitation technology suppliers have a few customers who inspires them by the sheer normality of their lives. There are thousands of stories about teachers, lawyers, doctors, researchers, and myriad others contributing to the lives of their communities, supporting their families, and determining their own destiny. It would be nice to see a flick about these people and have it get the kind of recognition that Murderball and Million Dollar Baby received.

All that said, I encourage everyone to see Murderball when and if it comes to a theater near you. You might learn something and watching the reactions of other moviegoers can be quite entertaining. If you miss it at the theater, plans are underway for a November 29, 2005 DVD release. DP

David T. Williams is a freelance journalist, poet, consultant, and author. His first book, Battling the Beast Within, was released by the Cleveland Clinic Press. Williams can be reached via e-mail: davidtwilliams@comcast.net or through his Web site: www.battlingthebeastwithin.com.