By George Bate
Numerous films in recent years have chronicled the struggles of and advocacy for marginalized groups, but the disability community has rarely received the attention it deserves. In the new crowd-pleasing drama Being Heumann, the tumultuous history of civil rights and protections for people with disabilities in the United States is explored with heaps of heart and humor.
Making its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, Being Heumann takes place in 1977 and follows Judy Heumann (Ruth Madeley), a Brooklyn woman bound to a wheelchair after a childhood case of polio. When Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare Joseph Califano (Mark Ruffalo) refuses to sign regulations for Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that will would provide access protections for people with disabilities, Judy rallies a group of people with disabilities to occupy a federal building in San Francisco and finally convince Califano to sign the bill.
The safety and conventionality of Being Heumann threaten to, but ultimately don’t, derail Siân Heder’s follow-up to CODA. The film operates much like the kind of historical drama you’d watch in middle school or high school to give visuals and added meaning to lectures about the history of disability rights, albeit one brought to life with extraordinarily authentic performances and imbued with resonant emotion every step of the way.
At times a tad saccharine, Heder’s film overwhelmingly excels at telling an often overlooked moment in American history with groundedness and emotional truth. All of the actors, many of whom are actual people with disabilities, feel less like performances and more like subjects of a documentary, such is the realism they all lend to their respective turns. Dennis Billups, in particular, is a highlight of the film as a lovely, soft-spoken blind man who lends his time and energy to Judy’s sit-in movement.
Judy herself, meanwhile, is realized with similar authenticity by Ruth Madeley. The English actress known for her role in Doctor Who plays Judy Heumann with fearlessness and bite, crafting a character admirable in her tenacity and lovable in her kindness. Her character arc in the film, which chronicles Judy’s gradual realization that she does not universally speak for everyone in the movement and needs to take others’ perspectives into greater consideration, is rather heavy-handed and is so secondary to the proceedings that it could be removed with little impact on the final film, but Madeley excels with the material at her disposal and, like Judy herself, leads an impressive, eclectic group of personalities.
The routine antagonist of the film, played by the always reliable Mark Ruffalo, speaks to how lacking in nuance Being Heumann is. The bad guys are very clearly the bad guys, the good guys are very clearly the good guys, and the complexities and practical implications of Section 504 are largely overlooked in favor of a more accessible, yet straightforward historical drama. Those seeking a depth and breadth of understanding of this topic may come away disappointed, but this is clearly not the scope of Heder’s film.
Perhaps the greatest testament to Being Heumann’s ability to persist through its simplicity is that this was the first (and so far only) film at TIFF this year to make me tear up. The beautifully raw depiction of disability, invisible identities, intersectionality, and inclusivity makes it a necessary viewing, especially in a day and age in which injustices are rampant and advocacy is needed more than ever.
VERDICT: 7.5/10
Making its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Being Heumann dramatizes the tumultuous battle for protections for people with disabilities in the United States with heaps of heart and humor. Although rather straightforward, lacking in nuance, and playing much like the kind of movie one would watch in middle school or high school to bring visuals to an important historical event, Siân Heder’s follow-up to CODA overwhelmingly excels at telling an often overlooked moment in American history with groundedness and emotional truth. Incredibly authentic performances across the ensemble impress throughout, in particular that of scene-stealing Dennis Billups as a lovely, soft-spoken blind man. Ruth Madeley, meanwhile, plays Judy Heumann with fearlessness and bite, crafting a character admirable in her tenacity and lovable in her kindness. The first (and so far only) movie of TIFF 2026 to make me tear up, Being Heumann offers a beautifully raw depiction of disability, invisible identities, intersectionality, and inclusivity that renders it necessary viewing, especially in a day and age in which injustices are rampant and advocacy is needed more than ever.