Main Cast: Eric Stoltz, Helen Hunt, William Forsythe, Wesley Snipes, Elizabeth Peña
Release Year: 1991
Country: US
Run Time: 106 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Paralyzed in a 1984 accident, writer/director Neal Jimenez (of River's Edge fame) channelled his own experiences and emotions into his 1991 film Waterdance. Eric Stoltz stars as a young writer left incapacitated by a hiking accident. He is placed in a paraplegic ward, peopled by patients of all races and emotional states. Together with his new-found friends, Stoltz rebels against the hospital system and his own debilitation. Helen Hunt and Wesley Snipes are among the costars in this effective update (though not a remake) of 1950's The Men. Waterdance was given a brief theatrical release in 1992 before being telecast on PBS' American Playhouse in early 1993. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
A terrific example of how to tell a sentimental tale without being mawkish, this impressive first film by Neal Jimenez and Michael Steinberg avoids all the standard-issue nonsense about physical therapy and recovery that has been explored in many movies to create a refreshingly perceptive view of the subject that refuses to take the easy way out. Sexual dysfunction and internalized anger are just two subjects the film brings into the light with refreshing candor.The acting is uniformly superb, with Wesley Snipes especially strong in a rare character role. What is most impressive about the film is its quietness: scenes of blatant screaming matches and Oscar-bait soap opera are absent here, and the film is all the better for it. The Waterdance has an effective core of recognition and sense of genuine empathetic storytelling, making it entirely memorable and irrefutably affecting. This film was an Audience Award prize winner at the 1992 Sundance Film Festival, as well as the recipient of the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, which was awarded to writer/director Jimenez, who himself has been paralyzed since 1984, very much like the character Eric Stoltz plays in the film. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
William Allen Young - Les; David Aguilar - Carlos; Adriana Barbor - Stripper; Ed Barkas - Western Man; Ann Blessing - Waila Group; Michael Bowen - Biker #1; Angelica Castell - Victor's Daughter; Lyla Chang - Korean Singer; Pola Churchill - Vernon's Wife; Joey Ciccone - Biker #2; Lara Cody - Waila Group; Elizabeth Dennehy - Candy; Badja Djola - Decton; Starletta DuPois - Florence; Thomas F. Duffy - Harrison; John Forsythe; William Forward - Cop; Tony Genaro - Victor; Susan Gibney - Cheryl Lynn; Joe Goddbiff - Derelict Man; Fay Hauser - Rachel Hill; Sandra Lee - Korean Singer; Rick Lieberman - David Albini; Chelsea Madison-Ciu - Lucille; Kyu Na - Korean Singer; Joe Nipote - Emcee; Marco Ramos - Tomas; James Roach - Guy in the Electronic Wheelchair; Edgar Rodriguez - Victor's Son; Rebecca Ruth - Sheila; Jennifer Ryan - Stripper; Reni Satoni - Waila Group; Kimberly Scott - Alice; Sanghyuk Shin - Korean Singer; Tony Simotes - Phone Operator; Casey Stengal - Vernon; Tai Thai - Sang; Erick Vigil - Victor's Son; Dean Wein - Waila Group; Thomas White - Waila Group; Mirron E. Willis - Doctor; Barbara Alyn Woods - Annabelle Lee; Jeffrey Scott Yesko - Waila Group; Andrea Young - Starletta Hill; Grace Zabriskie - Pat; Andy Goldberg - Waila Group; Henry Harris - Mr. Gibson
Credit
Isis Mussenden - Costume Designer, Neal Jimenez - Director, Michael Steinberg - Director, Jeff Freeman - Editor, Michael Convertino - Composer (Music Score), Bob Ziembicki - Production Designer, Mark Plummer - Cinematographer, Marie Cantin - Producer, Gale Anne Hurd - Producer, Guy Riedel - Producer, Neal Jimenez - Screenwriter
The Waterdance is a 1992 semi-autobiographical movie about a young writer who becomes paralyzed in a hiking accident and works to rehabilitate his body and mind at a rehabilitation center. It stars Eric Stoltz, Wesley Snipes, William Forsythe and Helen Hunt as a married woman he is having an affair with at the time of the accident. It was written and directed by Neal Jimenez. The lovers attempt to carry on their affair during his emotional and painful rehabilitation as a paraplegic. As implied by the title, waterdance therapy is shown.
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