While the title of Being Heumann is a reference to disability rights activist Judy Heumann’s tireless efforts in legislating accessibility, the biopic is better viewed as an ensemble piece that captures the entire movement she championed.
In writer/director Siân Heder’s followup to her 2021 Oscar winner Coda, she recounts the 28-day occupation of San Francisco’s federal building, led by Heumann (Ruth Madeley), as she and a group of activists demanded the signing of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act and its Section 504, which banned discrimination against people with disabilities in government-funded institutions, more than a decade before the ADA was signed into law.
Despite its somewhat excessive two-hour runtime—perhaps prudent to capture the sit-in’s grueling length—the movie doesn’t spend much time going into Heumann’s backstory. But Madeley, who was born with spina bifida, plays her with a fearless determination and passion that would make the real Heumann proud.
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Meanwhile, as the onscreen Heumann learns to release some control of the movement and the ongoing sit-in, the film explores the backstories of some of this talented ensemble of disabled characters, each contributing to the film’s humorous and touching heartbeat.
The ensemble includes Antwan Tolliver as Black Panther and disability rights advocate Brad Lomax, whose past gets some attention as he brings together two movements. Madeline Delp plays fellow leader Kitty Cone, whose selfless compassion challenges Heumann’s radical approach to the movement. Charlie Rush-Reese gives a heartfelt performance as a new activist who finds his voice throughout the film.
Also part of the cast is Dylan O’Brien as KGO-TV reporter Evan White, whose ableist experience is shaken when he decides to embed himself in the sit-in, ultimately helping them take their fight to Washington DC. Roberta Colindrez plays Heumann’s confidant and fellow activist Joni Breves, who serves as her caregiver at times and ultimately uses her able privilege to help care for the other protesters throughout the sit-in. Jon Beavers provides chemistry as an able-bodied romantic opposite for Heumann, who is fine with her taking control.
Starring as Joseph Califano, secretary of health, education and welfare, Mark Ruffalo brings an exhausted stubbornness to the bureaucrat that remains resistant to change after ending up in an impossible position with his new office, five years into the passage of the Rehabilitation Act, which has still not been signed into law. It’s an interesting part for Ruffalo, given the actor’s own ongoing fights against the same U.S. government, a reminder that the struggle for civil rights still exists for many Americans.
Not only does the film capture these stories with enormous compassion, but it humanizes people with disabilities in ways that many projects fail to do while depicting the experience as either tragedy or inspiration porn. It shows the intimacy and trust that goes into caregiving, it shows that disabled people are as sexual as anyone else, and it shows what it feels like being seen as invisible by society.
While they fight for change on a federal level, it’s satisfying to watch them enforce change themselves, essentially making the building ADA compliant during their month-long residency. And as the cops try to arrest them, only to realize their own jails aren’t accessible, the film expresses perfectly how the government trips over its own feet while resisting inevitable change.
As disabled people, Heumann notes they belong to “a minority anyone could become part of,” something also demonstrated in a cleverly karmic moment for Califano as he attempts to evade protesters.
While Being Heumann leaves a little to be desired in regards to Heumann’s backstory, this movie spotlights the humanity in herself and many of her fellow activists, capturing a movement thats impact is everywhere today, and highlighting the power of intersectionality and collective action.
Title: Being Heumann
Festival: TIFF
Section: Gala Presentations
Director: Siân Heder
Screenwriter: Siân Heder, Rebekah Taussig
Cast: Ruth Madeley, Madeline Delp, Mark Ruffalo, Dylan O’Brien, Rob Delaney, Daniel Durant, Roberta Colindrez, Antwan Tolliver, Jon Beavers, Ray Fisher, Andrew Pilkington, Michael Patrick Thornton, Russell Harvard, Charlie Rush-Reese, Rio Finnegan, D’Arcee Charrington Neal, Will Brill, Matthew August Jeffers, Sienna Rafter, Rein Barcel
US Distributor: Apple Original Films
Running time: 2 hrs 7 mins
