Helen Hunt Filmography Part 7: The Waterdance

One of Helen Hunt’s best performances.

A touching depiction of love and friendship.

Based on a true story, The Waterdance (1992) follows the accidental paralysis of Joel Garcia (Eric Stoltz) who falls while hiking and becomes a paraplegic. Along with his fellow paraplegics on the hospital ward, Raymond (Wesley Snipes) and Bloss (William Forsythe), he learns to live in his new circumstance.

The movie is primarily an exploration of masculinity in disability while also  dealing with loss, love, sexuality, friendship, prejudice, and community. However, I’m not going to focus on that directly; I’m going to focus on Helen Hunt’s character, Anna. 

Hey, this is a Helen Hunt stan blog, not a “detoxing-masculinity” blog.

Anna (Hunt) stays with Joel, her boss and lover, throughout his journey from initial injury to living independently with his paralysis. Watching her navigate their relationship in light of his injury and chronic condition is one of the truest things I've seen on screen.

In a one sad and beautiful scene, Anna is saying goodbye to Joel at the hospital for the evening. He says, “You seem to be taking all this remarkably well”. She just smiles and then leaves.

As she walks the halls of the hospital her demeanor visibly deflates. When she gets outside, she starts crying.  She carries the unseen and unacknowledged weight of her own grief and fear and uncertainty.

Anna has the heartbreaking challenge of being a positive presence for Joel while being completely lost and overwhelmed and devastated by what has happened. Her need for comfort is as real as his, but she is alone in her loss without comfort or support. 

The movie does not shy away from depicting the way relationships change in illness or injury. When the body that was originally known and loved becomes drastically different, there are unique challenges. Love is more than the body, but it is not less. As the film explores the changed dynamics of sex after disability, each character chooses a way of living with their new reality.

Joel and Raymond attend a workshop at the hospital on post-paralysis sex. The speaker emphasizes the need to moderate expectations and focus on pleasing one’s partner rather than expecting to enjoy sex in the same way they had before.

Prioritizing female orgasm, particularly oral sex, is felt by both men to be second best and a reflection on their masculinity. While Raymond (Snipes) rejects the idea loudly and colorfully, Joel uses dispassionate aloofness to cope with his condition.

For Joel and Anna, a Scrabble game becomes something else when a little kissing becomes a little more, to the awkward discomfort of the other patients and visitors in the ward. They are in turn interrupted and embarrassed by a medication delivery. 

Adorably embarrassed Helen Hunt is my favorite.

Medical grade walk of shame.

Later when Joel and Anna try to have sex–in a motel, not the hospital this time–things go badly, and they are again thwarted in their attempt at intimacy, this time by a leaking leg bag. Joel is frustrated by his inability to participate and experience sex as fully as he had before.

In both these encounters, Anna does not treat his changed body as an insurmountable barrier to their love. She seems willing to explore new ways of engaging with Joel romantically; however, Joel is too proud to work through the challenge and frustration. He sees whatever result they might achieve as inferior and therefore humiliating. His refusal to engage leaves Anna disappointed and hurt. 

The movie doesn’t downplay the difficulty of adjusting to a new physical and sexual reality and figuring out how to create a romantic life that is satisfying to both partners. However, these scenes highlight the idea that making male satisfaction the benchmark of sex, leaves everyone dissatisfied. 

Joel becomes increasingly hostile toward Anna as he moves in and out of different manifestations of his grief. During one fight, she reminds him that she lost something as well with his accident.

Her life, which is tied up in his, has also irrevocably changed. The future she imagined for herself and for them is gone. It’s not the same as his loss, and she doesn’t equate the two, but it is a loss and it deserves compassion and understanding. Joel is unable to offer her any support or compassion for their mutual loss.

At one point Joel confesses to another patient that he is sometimes filled with rage at the sight of Anna simply because she can walk. He pushes her away repeatedly out of anger, self-pity, jealousy, and a desire to be reassured of her love regardless of his antagonism.

Anna tries to love him as best she can in their new reality. Ultimately their romantic relationship cannot bear the strain of all the pain and pride and change.

I love this movie. I love the way it is real without being cynical and honest without being hopeless. I love the beauty that it finds in imperfection. I love Helen Hunt for giving us this gift of a movie.