Gleason: the Film, the Tears, and the Dignity of a Courageous Soul

When Steve Gleason, former NFL defensive back for the New Orleans Saints, was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) in 2011, rather than cave under this crushing diagnosis, he decides to play the best game of his life as a husband, father, and son.

The film, ‘Gleason’ opens with clips of his prime footballing days, and then soberly segues into a video chronicling of his life with this terminal neuro-muscular disease, from the moment of diagnosis to the present day when he can no longer speak or breathe unaided.

The ebb and flow

Six weeks after his diagnosis, Steve’s wife, Michel announces the startling news that’s she pregnant with their first child. Steve was already fired with the determination to inspire others by living a full, adventurous,  and participatory life with ALS for as long as possible. The news of the pregnancy fuels that fire with a gutsy resolve to pass on the best of who he is as a father to his son, Rivers.

The film includes many tender, and at times heart-wrenching moments, of his sharing his joy, pride, and pain with his toddler son. The other raw and uncensored father-son relationship in the film is the one he has with his father. A relationship that progresses from deep spiritual and emotional rifts to one of forgiveness, acceptance, and reconciliation.

A perfect companion

The love story of Steve and his wife Michel is of particular significance in the film. With as much spunk, fire and passion for life as her husband, Michel’s character shines throughout with wit, tenderness, honesty, and the same indomitable spirit as her ailing husband.

In summation this documentary is a brutally honest slice of life featuring a singularly courageous man who wants to pass on the best of himself to family and viewers alike. His dignity, honor, integrity, and spiritual conviction, barely waver in spite of excruciatingly frustrating moments as his body deteriorates and robs him of natural expression and movement.

It’s a stirring, heart-warming, and hear-wrenching tribute to family, life, and relationship in their rawest, most vulnerable moments. To paraphrase the words of Henry David Thoreau, Steve went to the woods because he wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and not, when he came to die, discover that he had not lived.

He has lived, is still living, and you can see this documentary in selected theaters from July 29.

It’s inspirational to the core.

Cover Photo: YouTube Still

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