Slamdance 2018: ‘Roll With Me’ by Lisa France
by Peter Belsito
Tough film, I really liked it and it struck me personally.
Roll with Me, which screened at the recent Slamdance Film Festival, is a feature docu that centers on Gabriel Cordell, who, in 1992, was involved in a traffic accident that left him without the use of his legs.
After a drug-fueled, self-destructive spiral that lasted for years, the one-time aspiring actor sobered up at the age of 42. Needing a goal to strive for, he decided to make history as the first person to roll across the United States in a plain wheelchair.
Director Lisa France and the members of her small production team introduce themselves to viewers and almost immediately reveal that each has specific medical, psychological, and emotional issues.
This film really cuts to the core of so many issues that it’s hard not to take personally. I did.
Right away the documentary makes us empathize with Cordell by capturing how simply getting in a wheelchair or off it and into his car is a struggle. Cordell is not an athlete, and his mission will require crossing 3,100 miles and overcoming considerable elevation.
Luckily for Cordell, the filmmakers will be actively involved. They all got involved in the project because something about Cordell’s story inspired them. However, that doesn’t stop them from constantly bickering on camera.
Most of the travel footage consists of Cordell willing himself onward despite setbacks whicht include a shoulder injury.
The subject’s main opponent is not another competitor but himself. The suspense lies in whether Cordell’s body can hold up under tremendous duress long enough to reach his destination.
Scenes where he makes public appearances to promote his mission are among the most moving as Cordell comes across as genuinely humbled by how people embrace him.
As word about him spreads, more people come out to the roadside at various points with donations of food, water, gloves, or just to thank him for raising awareness of people with disabilities.
Their actions clearly move Cordell, who over the course of the film transforms before our very eyes, from someone who cut himself off from all human contact into a man of the people.
Cordell’s story is unquestionably inspiring, and in a world in which no less than the American president ridicules persons with disabilities, the sight of someone in a wheelchair willing himself into the record books becomes vital viewing.
What starts out as a challenge to push an unmodified wheelchair from California to New York, morphs into a transcendent journey. ROLL WITH ME ignites our common humanity and urges us to find our inner hero or heroine.
Lisa France’s “Roll with Me” is a most important documentary film that should be seen widely. It has the power to heal a broken heart, depression, and even a frustration from life. It gives hope for changes, it has its own reset button to restart any life.
I love it that the filmmakers use our medium in this way. Impressive!
Finally, after viewing what is achieved by Gabriel, you may come to the conclusion that if you are still alive, every problem is possible to fix. It just might take a bit more than a willpower. What a great lesson there is here!!
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A cross country journey of Gabriel Cordell in a unmodified wheelchair. Roll With Me, a beloved crowd favorite premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival this fall where it was the winner of the Carpe Diem Andretta Award and runner up for the Audience Award, and has continued to touch the hearts & inspire everyone who views it across its festival journey. Executive produced by Jorja Fox (CSI, Christopher Nolan’s Momento) and Thom Beers (Deadliest Catch, Ice Road Truckers), and produced by journalist/producer Sharon Swart.
