This portrayal is the difference between “Daruma” and other films with disabled actors. The film does a succinct job of showing the real side of life with a disability. The veterans living community, which houses the main characters, shows dilapidated wheelchair ramps and formerly white doors etched by years of contact with hands and wheelchair rubber. The reality expressed in the script became a challenge for the actors seeking to preserve that realism. For example, when preparing this role for Patrick, Forrest held reservations that his condition didn’t align with the character. Those concerns were alleviated once his portrayal aligned with the filmmakers’ vision.
“My concern with “Daruma” was that my character is a paraplegic and I am a quadriplegic who could not physically do what I thought was required. However, after sharing this with the filmmakers, they reassured me that this was not about what people can do but about what people can feel,” Forrest said of his role as Patrick in an email to SN&R. “This allowed me to worry less about physical limitations and keep my attention on the character’s emotional journey.”
Forrest and Lawson’s roles as the two main characters who are also disabled were crafted with the hopes that disabled people can be seen in a more humanized light. This sentiment is expressed by Lawson, who plays opposite Forrest as the cantankerous old man tasked with driving Patrick and Camilla to Rhode Island, all while serving as the buffer between these two characters and their drastically shifted lives.
“I want viewers to see themselves represented in a way that reflects the reality of their experiences, whether or not disability is a major theme in their own lives,” Lawson said in an email to SN&R. “I hope the messages in this film will empower others by affirming that they don’t have to fit into limited narratives of triumph or villainy, but that their stories, like all stories, are varied and valid.”
Audience members who believe disability justice is important will appreciate the plot and execution of this film. They will find a heartwarming story of redemption and the triumph over the flaws of self, visible or otherwise. Locally, support for the message of the film is shared by members of the Sacramento film community, such as the Crest Theatre’s program manager, Joe Fletcher.
“When I read that the film was the first in U.S. history to star two actors with disabilities and executive produced by Peter Farrelly, I previewed it and decided that we should screen it,” Fletcher said in an email to SN&R.
Audiences should expect a film that they will get lost in, forgetting their preconceptions about disability to witness the story and the character development as uniquely human, no matter the physical limitations.
“Daruma” screens July 16 at 7 p.m. at the Crest Theatre, 1013 K St. $14. Visit darumamovie.com/get-tickets for more information.