Ben Apfelbaum

DON’T WORRY, HE WON’T GET FAR ON FOOT

Despite the fact that this is a film about the real life quadriplegic cartoonist John Callahan, this is definitely not the typically mawkish cliche of handicap triumphing over adversity. The film, directed by Gus van Sant, is based on Callahan’s memoir of the same name.

Born n 1951 Callahan died in 2010 of complications arising from his quadriplegia and respiratory problems.

Originally Robin Williams had optioned the book and invited Gus van Sant to adapt it. The double tragedy is that neither Callahan nor Williams lived to see the realisation of this fine film and in fact the film is dedicated to Robin Williams.

The film is about  the chronically alcoholic John Callahan who started heavily drinking from early teenage-hood. This is attributed to the fact that Callahan had been adopted into a family that treated him unemotionally such that Callahan keenly felt that his mother had rejected him.

During a party when he was 21 he meets a man called Dexter who is just as drunk as Callahan. Dexter drove Callahan’s  car in a drunken stupor such that he walks away from the accident without a scratch whilst Callahan is .left with a devastating spinal chord injury which rendered him a quadriplegic.

Joaquin Phoenix is utterly convincing as the dipsomaniacal quadriplegic. Jack Black as Dexter is  a dark and tragic figure very different from his usual cuddly persona.

Callahan joined an AA group led by a guru Donnie Green played by Jonah Hill.  Jonah Hill has gone to a lot of trouble to lose weight so that he can undertake serious roles such as this one.

The AA group consists of some cult figures such as Beth Ditto, gay icon and former leader of the band, ‘Gossip’ and Udo Kier, who early in his career played Dracula in an Andy Warhol weird adaptation of the Bram Stoker classic.

The films black humour and quirky style matches that of Callahan’s cartoons. Gaining some movement in his upper body and using both hands Callahan  started cartooning . No subject was regarded as taboo from mocking disabilities and disease to joking about racism. When his cartoons started appearing in the Portland newspaper Willamette Week there was outrage and boycott of the paper.  As a result the paper gave him a long term contract which gave him some financial security.

During the film there are some examples of Callahan’s  dark humour. My favourite was an animated cartoon with two Ku Klux Clansman in their uniform with one remarking to the other ‘Don’t our hoods feel nice and fluffy after just being washed’. There is also dark humour in the way Joaquin Phoenix crashes or falls ungraciously out of his wheelchair.

The quirkiness is facilitated by alcoholic flashbacks and mood swings.  Aiding in Callahan’s recovery is a sweet natured therapist turned air hostess  Annu played by Runi Mara who is in fact Phoenix’s real life girlfriend.

The balance between humour and tragedy is masterful especially in the sure hands of Gus van Sant who has directed such great films as Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho, Good Will Hunting, the bio pic Milk and the wicked comedy To Die For with Nicole Kidman playing what I believe was her best role.

The film does end on a positive note and does not mention his death.

Published by Ben Apfelbaum

My photography began when my father handed me the proverbial brownie box camera as a child. As cameras developed I went through Fujica and Olympus range finders graduating to my first single lens reflex camera, the Minolta SRT101, the latter being the greatest facilitator to my growth as a photographer. Digital photography has only added to this. I was a regular contributor to Camera Craft magazine (Australian Camera ) for over three years. During Australia’s Bicentennial year (1988) I made it a personal project to document the celebrations. This culminated in the creation of a book of my photos which was published in 1989. The book was called CELEBRATING AUSTRALIA and came with an accompanying calendar. My works have appeared in a number of publications including the coffee book entitled MY AUSTRALIA (1989), publisher Robertsbridge Severn. This book had a preface by the then Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. I was a co-photographer on a book entitled SYDNEY- DISCOVER THE CITY with text written by Robert Treborland. Major Mitchell Press was the publisher. Also for two years I was the photographer for calendars celebrating Sydney’s multicultural communities. The two calendars were entitled MULTICULTURAL SYDNEY. My work appeared in a group exhibition held at Sydney’s Town Hall pertaining to the diversity of life in South America to raise money for orphanages there. I have over one hundred photos stored in the New South Wales State Library archive. I had a solo exhibition held in 2007 entitled Ben’s Lens at the Sydney Jewish Museum which celebrated the vibrancy of the Sydney Jewish community. Some of these photos are on the Museum’s permanent display. I have exhibited internationally firstly at the Spruill Gallery in Atlanta Georgia, united states, and in an exhibition entitled Kosher and Co at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Currently I am a regular contributor to J-Wire and this esteemed publication.