It's refreshing. Really.
It's refreshing to have a film not about disability feature actors with disabilities who are telling a rich, meaningful story.
DARUMA is the film. The film had its world premiere in 2023 at the Dances with Films Film Festival where it embarked on a successful indie fest run that included a best acting prize for John W. Lawson at Slamdance Film Festival, a best actor prize for Tobias Forrest as recipient of Norman Lear's Media Access Award, and the film's claiming of Women in Film's ReFrame Stamp for a Gender Balanced Production.
DARUMA is a darkly comical film centered around Patrick (Tobias Forrest), a bitter wheelchair using vet whose life primarily consists of strip clubs, one-night stands, bad choices, and dealing with his cantankerous neighbor Robert, a double amputee veteran played with soulful verve by John W. Lawson. When DCS shows up at his door with the wildly unexpected news that Patrick is a father to four-year-old Camilla (Victoria Scott) and that mom has recently passed away from an aggressive cancer, Patrick's life is thrown into a tailspin.
DARUMA is, indeed,a darkly comical film yet it's the moments of poignancy and simple humanity that really grab you. Directed by Alexander Yellen and written by Kelli McNeil-Yellen, Daruma finds humor in the humanity of its characters yet also never lets us forget their humanity. The film finds its cinematic soul once Patrick realizes he's in over his head and makes arrangements for Camilla to live with her maternal grandparents in Rhode Island. Shunning flying because airlines still haven't figured out how to transport a wheelchair, a true thing for sure, Patrick is forced to partner up with the cantankerous Robert to transfer Camilla across the country for her new life.
Alexander Yellen also lenses the film and brilliantly so. At times capturing Patrick's POV literally from his wheelchair, Yellen amplifies Patrick's humanity by showing disability not as strength or weakness but simply as perspective. In a film where the co-leads could have so easily been tasked to actors without disabilities once again "playing" disability for awards glory, Yellen wisely casts authentically and to great reward. There's a richness in the tapestry here that immerses you in the story, teeny-tiny elements of authentic representation that are familiar to me, a wheelchair using film journalist, that lead to a deeper immersion and appreciation for the storytelling.
And, oh what wonderful storytelling it is from McNeil-Yellen. She writes with such naturalness and familiarity that I couldn't help but wonder if I slept with her that one night at the strip club.
I'm kidding. Maybe.
DARUMA is not, however, about disability. It's about the human journey. It's about perseverance. It's about forgiveness - especially self-forgiveness. The forgiveness, in particular, is brought intimately to life and if you look closely at Robert you'll understand why it all makes beautiful and powerful sense.
Yellen's casting of Forrest and Lawson makes sense, not because of some performative requirement but because it's a perspective that enrichens McNeil-Yellen's storytelling and really brings these characters to life. DARUMA tells a beautiful story while also bringing disability to life in a natural, positive, and accurate way without compromising the fact that we're also human beings with all the foibles that human beings can have.
DARUMA started a limited theatrical run this week with indie distributor Freestyle Digital Media in advanced of its wider streaming release. It's a film that most certainly deserves a wider audience.
In addition to Yellen's effective, emotionally resonant lensing, Adam Oliver's original score the film helps to capture the film's narrative rhythms and emotional depth. Costume design by Shweta Bangaloree helps define the layers of these characters and Natasha Heeszel's production design quietly yet wholly immerses us in these worlds individually and collectively.
As a longtime film journalist with a disability, spina bifida and double amputee, it's refreshing to see more and more films about disability cross my desk. It's perhaps even a bit more refreshing with DARUMA because the film isn't so much about disability but instead about the human experience told through the lens of two human beings living the disability experience. The film also includes a lovely appearance by the beloved Barry Bostwick along with a spirited, inspired performance by young Victoria Scott as Camille. You won't want to miss this one.
Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic
