‘Confessions of a Superhero’ or “Real people can wear capes too” (DVD Review)
I had no prior knowledge about this documentary before I watched it and, to my surprise, it blew me away. This is a fascinating film, but also a heartbreaking one. This documentary follows four people who work on Hollywood Boulevard on the Hollywood Walk of fame as costumed superheroes. These are people not affiliated with the historic Chinese theater, but they do this for a living or as a means to get their name and face out to the public. The film follows Christopher Dennis (Superman), Jennifer Gehrt (Wonder Woman), Joseph McQueen (The Hulk) and Maxwell Allen (Batman). Each of these people work in costumes and each has a story to tell.
The superheroes are as equally fascinating as they are tragic. I’ve seen the costumed characters on Hollywood Boulevard and you don’t often think about the fact that these are real people with lives, families, hopes and dreams. This documentary gives a face to those people in costume, and gives glimpse into the world they live in and how they came to be in costume.
‘Confessions of a Superhero’ follows four people who dress in costume to make regular living from it. Christopher Dennis is obsessed with Superman; he lives, and breathes the character. Superman is his life. He looks like Christopher Reeve and clearly considers it an honor to wear the costume. Jennifer Gehrt dresses as Wonder Woman and wants to be in films and on TV but does this to support herself in the meantime. She’s from a small town in Tennessee and fled small town life for something more, something bigger and is still striving for it. Joseph McQueen dresses as the Hulk and wears the biggest and bulkiest costume. It obscures anyone from seeing his face. He’s from North Carolina, arriving in LA during the riots and spending several years being homeless on the streets. A cool thing about McQueen is that he still retains a very positive outlook on life while he tries to make a name for himself. Maxwell Allen is the most like his alter ego, Batman. He’s dark, mysterious and very troubled. The other people in costume even acknowledge that Maxwell is the most dangerous person they know, even if he’s well-meaning. Maxwell admits to doing even more odd jobs before be came to dress like Batman, even admitting that he possibly has ties to the mob and has killed people too.
This is a beautifully shot film. There is a heavy use of powerful still photography; this combined with the use of the traditional documentary handheld style really delivers a steady feel of emotion. The music is also spot-on. Much if the vein ‘Friday Night Lights,’ the music elevates the emotion without you even being aware of it.
These people don’t wish for something else in life but they do wish for more. The documentary is set up with the interviews of the subjects actually feeling like confessions to a psychiatrist. At times these people are hopeful and excited about what they do, and in the next scene you see a glimpse behind their emotional front and see how damaged they actually are. This film is not done in an exploitative way either, which would drastically change the tone of the film if it had been done in such a way. These subjects are real and are each very different interesting to watch and their stories are riveting. This film took me by surprise. It’s a great documentary and I’m surprised it hasn’t garnered more attention. I love documentaries like this that catch you off guard and leave you in awe of just how good it is.
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