Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Eric Stoltz | ... | Joel Garcia | |
Helen Hunt | ... | Anna | |
William Allen Young | ... | Les | |
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James Roach | ... | Guy in the Electric Wheelchair |
Elizabeth Peña | ... | Rosa | |
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Henry Harris | ... | Mr. Gibson |
Tony Genaro | ... | Victor | |
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Eva Rodriguez | ... | Victor's Wife |
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Erick Vigil | ... | Victor's Son |
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Edgar Rodriguez | ... | Victor's Son |
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Angélica Castell | ... | Victor's Daughter |
William Forsythe | ... | Bloss | |
Grace Zabriskie | ... | Pat | |
Wesley Snipes | ... | Raymond Hill | |
Kimberly Scott | ... | Alice |
A film about struggling to deal with paralysis. Author Joel Garcia breaks his neck while hiking, and finds himself in a rehabilitation centre with Raymond, an exaggerating ladies' man, and Bloss, a racist biker. Considerable tension builds as each character tries to deal with his new found handicap and the problems that go with it, especially Joel, whose lover Anna is having as difficult a time as he is. As Raymond reveals a dream about dancing on the surface of a lake to stay afloat, it becomes apparent that each of them must find his own Waterdance to survive his tragedy. Written by Michael Silva <silvamd@cleo.bc.edu>
This was one of those films I probably never would have picked off the shelf , but it came on IFC one day and I said - Eric Stolz, William Forsythe...why not? If I'd changed the channel, I would have really missed a treasure.
The subject is depressing - young author paralyzed in climbing accident convalesces in lower-class rehabilitation center. It would have been so easy and tempting to make this a manipulative tear-jerker. But, that doesn't happen because it was written by Neal Jimenez, after he himself was accidently paralyzed. No Hollywood happiness here. All of the patients in the ward come from wildly different backgrounds, but they share a feeling of helplessness, of being at the mercy of others. Stolz is very good as a "lone wolf" type, forced into embarrassing dependence on his girlfriend (Helen Hunt); Wesley Snipes is fine as a former ladies' man whose family is falling apart; but William Forsythe takes the cake as a tough guy determined to make someone pay for taking away his independence.
See this film.