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FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2005
Santa Monica Daily Press
Entertainment ‘Murderball’ a gripping, realistic documentary BY DAN DUNN Special to the Daily Press
The list of compelling documentaries released this year is quite impressive, and “Murderball,” a labor of tough love from a group of neophyte NYC-based filmmakers, certainly deserves mention alongside the best of the bunch. Bearing the name of Review the smashmouth sport officially known as quad rugby, which is played in more than 40 countries internationally by iron-willed quadriplegics of varying degrees of upper-body mobility, the film chronicles two-plus years in the lives of some of the game’s most colorful figures. Foremost among them are the principal protagonists — who happen to be each other’s biggest antagonists — Mark Zupan and Joe Soares. The former is the goateed, tattooed wheelchair warrior adorning the film posters who is the charismatic young leader of perennial powerhouse Team USA. Alpha-male Soares is a belligerent former American all-star who, consumed with bitterness at having been cut from his country’s squad, signed on to coach the rival Canadians. Quad rugby is everything its menacing nickname implies. The combatants are equipped with “Road Warrior”-esque armored wheelchairs and exhibit a temerarious disregard for their physical wellbeing. The on-court action is intense, expertly captured at what Zupan calls an “ass-level view” by co-director/director of photography Henry Alex Rubin. But what really makes “Murderball” such a treat is the stuff that transpires away from the game, where we discover that in spite of
their physical limitations, these guys are everyday people who do the things everyday people do, including doing IT! The Zupan-Soares feud makes for a fascinating principal storyline, and Rubin and codirector Dana Adam Shapiro (whose Maxim magazine article was the impetus
for the project) weave in numerous other character profiles that are profoundly moving yet appreciatively devoid of overt sentimentality. The filmmakers boldly chose to handle the sensitive subject matter without using kid gloves, and the result is a true and truly uplifting plaudit to a
group of jocks and their indomitable spirit. This is film that belongs on everyone’s “to see” list. (Rated R for language and sexual content. Running time: 86 minutes)
‘Dark Water’ by design is, indeed, unrelentingly dark BY DAN DUNN Special to the Daily Press
It’s nice to know that even the beautiful people get a raw deal once in a while, which is what happens to Jennifer Connelly after she splits with her butthole
hubby and has to take up residence in the leakiest, creakiest and, oh my, creepiest shoebox apartment on Roosevelt Island. Dahlia (that’s Jen’s character name) is none too happy about this unfortunate turn of events, especially since she’s got her daughter, Ceci (spooky kid named
Ariel Gade), with her, and the heartless ex and agents from social services keep trying to pry the little girl away. Plus, it won’t stop raining, the lighting’s terrible, and Jennifer Connelly looks a little too thin for her own good these days. And when Dahlia notices a big, black
wet spot on the bedroom ceiling, there’s a look on her face that says, “Oh God, not ‘The Ring 2’ again!” Sure enough, it isn’t long before a ghost girl with an ax to grind and perpetually wet hair shows up and starts freaking the bejesus out of Dahlia. She fears she’s losing her mind (and that her snarky ex might be manipulating her surroundings), but knows she’s gotta keep it together if she wants to maintain custody of Ceci and … wait, is that a face in the washing machine? And what’s with all the clumps of black hair in the sink? Is Cher using the bathroom when we’re not home? Brazilian Walter Salles (“The Motorcycle Diaries”) makes his Hollywood genre film directorial debut with “Dark Water” and does a nice job keeping the focus on Dahlia as she unravels — make no mistake, this is less a horror movie than it is a psychodrama about the incredible lengths to which a mother will go to hold onto her child. The production design can be summed up in two words — unrelentingly bleak — and after nearly two hours of it you’re bound to leave the theater feeling quite dispirited. At least the filmmakers intended it that way, which is more than can be said for a lot of other films that are out there. (PG-13, for mature thematic material, frightening sequences, disturbing images and brief language. Running time: 111 minutes)