By John Corrado
In Being Heumann, the follow up to her Oscar-winning CODA, director Siân Heder dramatizes the story of Judith Heumann, the prominent disability rights activist who helped break down barriers for accessibility. The result is a film that works as a rousing, inspiring crowdpleaser about the disability rights movement in the 1970s, with themes that carry through to today.
Heder’s film focuses on the sit-in that Heumann staged in 1977, involving a group of disabled activists taking over the Department of Health, Education and Welfare building in San Francisco. The protest was to put pressure on President Jimmy Carter’s HEW Secretary Joseph Califano (Mark Ruffalo) to sign Section 504, a part of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act that never got signed into law. The provision, ensuring equal access for people with disabilities to all federal buildings, got tied up in government bureaucracy.
That is, until the unflappable Judy, a wheelchair user fighting for her own access to buildings, brings the issue into the national spotlight. Heder’s film mainly focuses on the several week protest, and it’s a compelling narrative. Heumann is played in the film by Ruth Madeley, who shines in the role as the tenacious Brooklynite, bringing spunk and energy to the role that would make her real life counterpart proud.
Madeley is backed up by a scene-stealing ensemble cast, with the film authentically casting disabled actors in these roles in a major win for inclusion and visibility. The unfortunate reality is that, if this movie had been made in the not so distant past, it likely would’ve starred a cast of able-bodied, non-disabled actors. The authentic casting lends credibility to Heder’s film.
Ruffalo toes the line between playing Califano as a movie antagonist and a government pencil pusher who is simply doing his job, not wanting to be on the hook for billions in new spending. Rob Delaney has some nice moments as the more sympathetic Congressman Miller. Dylan O’Brien also appears as the intrepid reporter Evan White, who started following the story and filming the protestors, giving them a much needed media spotlight.
The screenplay is respectful and refreshingly complex in its handling of disability onscreen, with Judy’s activist group encompassing a range of disabilities from physical to visual and hearing impairments. The film portrays the group as warts-and-all adults who are frustrated by being essentially shut out of everyday life due to a lack of access. The characters express sexual desires (and act on them). If the amount of foul language and sexual content here takes you by surprise, that’s all the more reason why this film is needed for visibility.
It’s in the little moments of inclusivity, like how Judy makes sure that activist Hale Zukas (Andrew Pilkington), who communicates through a spell board, has a chance to finish speaking before others interrupt him, that the film finds its power – and authenticity – in terms of disability representation.
In its thornier moments, the film realistically shows some dissent amongst the group, including an argument that breaks out about different accessibility needs depending on disability. Judy even butts heads with fellow activist Kitty Cone (Madeline Delp), with disagreements over how long they should stay occupying the building. These moments are important in terms of showing that disabled people are not a monolith.
If Being Heumann largely follows the expected crowdpleaser formula, the true story itself is more than compelling enough to make it work, and Heder does a good job of hitting these beats in a way that allows them to land with the audience. Finally, Madeley carries the film with her firecracker performance, backed up by the strong ensemble. The film works as entertainment, but also feels like it could be a turning point in terms of authentic casting for disabled actors, which should be applauded.
The Joy of Movies 