'Gleason' leaves a lot for us to fill in
The documentary 鈥淕leason,鈥� a big Sundance hit, is difficult to watch 鈥� and that鈥檚 the point. It鈥檚 about Steve Gleason, the NFL standout with the New Orleans Saints who, three years after his retirement in 2008, was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig鈥檚 disease). Six weeks later, his wife, Michel, discovered she was pregnant. Because Gleason was told that his ability to speak would imminently be lost, he began filming video diaries addressed to his unborn child, his first. These videos are the film鈥檚 emotional core. Director Clay Tweel utilizes home movies and football game footage of Gleason at various points in his pre-diagnosis life, but we didn鈥檛 even need these to highlight his physical decline. (He eventually speaks through an eye-triggered speech synthesizer.)聽
As a portrait of a strong marriage tested to the max, as well as a dissection of Gleason鈥檚 fraught relationship with his domineering father, 鈥淕leason鈥� leaves a lot for us to fill in. In the case of Steve and Michel, who gives birth to a bouncy baby boy, the saddest moment comes when he types out to her on his screen, 鈥淚鈥檓 wearing you down to bones.鈥� But it鈥檚 not all sadness. Gleason, a fighter on the field, and who is still alive, spearheaded treatment for others diagnosed with ALS. That鈥檚 a big part of his story, too. Grade: B (Rated R for language.)
