Murderball (2005)

June 18, 2009

DVD, Seattle, WA

*** / ****

File:Murderball.jpg

By Scott Muoio

How can a viewer not enjoy seeing a group of terminally injured dudes bash the Hell out of each other in the sport of wheelchair rugby? Well, maybe that enjoyment isn’t a given but what if the game is a recognized paralympic sport and the athletes’ participation one of their greatest loves and motivators to embracing life after debilitating injuries? Game on.

Murderball tells the story of the American national wheelchair rugby team and its colorful cast of players. While telling each player’s unique story the film delves into the team’s rivalry with a former U.S. wheelchair rugby champion who got old, got cut from the team, and then defected to Team Canada to be their coach. From the grizzly competitiveness and unabashed candor of these fierce rivals rises an uplifting romp that expertly captures the obvious and not-so-obvious details of second-chances, reinvention, and coping with unfortunate circumstances.

The sport of wheelchair rugby itself is simple: paralyzed participants are graded on their injuries based on their ability to move their limbs. A point total for the teams is established, the members mount supped up wheelchairs that look like something out of Mad Max, and then they scoot up and down a basketball court set-up like a football field with the goal being to get in the end zone. In other words, it is kill the man with the ball in wheelchairs.

While the sport is an exciting, testosterone-fueled contest of wills, it is the personalities of the players that set Murderball aloft. From captain Mark Suppan, a heavily tattooed bad-boy to Scott Hogsett, a fun-loving frat boy type who enjoys the fact that girls ask if he can still, you know, do it (“Yes I can!” he happily declares) all are unique, likeable, and great leading men.

In telling their stories, Murderball shows us truth, humour, and sincerity in all its forms. The documentary spares no details explaining the sad circumstances of each man’s injuries but also gives us a window into their daily tribulations. It elaborates on the intricacies of paralyzed sex, explores many questions most onlookers wonder (the most moving question is delivered by a child to an athlete missing both hands and feet: how do you eat pizza with your elbows?) and examines all of life’s details with an unbiased eye. The film gets a bit caught up in the sports side of things (this isn’t a particularly rewarding sports documentary) but in presenting its stars’ individual stories it is excellent and highly relatable. Most of us may not be in a wheelchair but who hasn’t had to deal with his or her own anxieties and limitations in one form or another?

Overall Murderball is an entertaining bit of filmmaking that treats people like people, athletes like athletes, and never once asks for sympathy. It is as tough as its stars and just as worthy of your attention.

Director: Henry Alex Rubin, Dana Adam Shapiro

Producer: Jeffrey Mandel, Dana Adam Shapiro

Starring: Keith Cavill, Andy Cohn, Scott Hogsett, Christopher Igoe, Mark Zupan, Bob Lujano, Joe Soares

Original Music: Jamie Saft

Cinematographer: Henry Rubin

Editor: Cono O’Neill