Never mind all the critical acclaim that have been bestowed upon this commendable documentary drama about a bunch of men who play quadriplegic rugby. There’s nothing in Murderball, directed by Henry-Alex Rubin and Dana Adam Shapiro (a journalist who first wrote about the sport in Maxim magazine) that you’ve never seen before.
While the economical film runs for only 85 minutes, some of its scenes seems a tad trite, especially those that involve the film’s antihero of sorts: Mark Zupan, a burlesque, tattooed, no-holds-barred and short-tempered player who happens to have a sexy girlfriend and sensitive side (how original!).
Murderball opens with quad rugby Team USA following its upset defeat at the hands of archrival Canada at the 2002 World Championship, and traces its members’ trials and tribulations to their rematch at the Paralympics in Athens in 2004.
Along the way, we get to know the flaws and fears of several complex individuals for whom physical limitations are just a part of living. They are the previously mentioned Zupan, whom we also discover later is trying to seal ties with the childhood friend who put him in the wheelchair; and the more persuasive Joe Soares, a famous US player who got too old for the team, was cut and, out of bitterness, started to coach the Canadian team.
While its narrative and direction is straightforward enough, the film’s better moments lie in showing the team’s undiminished ferocity, spirit and vulgar verve with which they play in the courts, and the complete emotional brio they apply to whatever they do off the court as well—including dating, grocery shopping and having emotional breakdowns with family members.
Although at the end of it all, there’s nothing really extraordinary about Murderball that makes it laudable or memorable—there have been many documentaries and/or films made about the physically challenged and their never-say-die attitude. Sure, directors Rubin and Shapiro do a good job making us relate to all of the players as people, facing ordinary everyday struggles and the unique challenges facing quadriplegics. But as a film, Murderball is hardly unique or compelling.