BETHANY HAMILTON: UNSTOPPABLE: Powerful Documentary Doesn’t Dig Deep Enough

Bethany Hamilton was 13 when she lost her arm to a tiger shark. A talented surfer, Hamilton didn’t give up hope and got back on her board only 4 weeks after the accident. Her ordeal was dramatized in the 2011 film Soul Surfer in which AnnaSophia Robb played Hamilton. Since the accident, Hamilton has become a mother, but her deep love of the ocean and surfing is front and centre in Aaron Lieber’s documentary.

Hamilton is without a doubt an inspiring individual. Faced with the very worst, she excelled and pushed through the pain and in this case, the literal unbalance to get back on the board and follow her dream. Her story is for the ages and Lieber dives deep into Hamilton’s past and present, exploring the immediate aftermath of the accident as well as her role as a wife and a mother, while maintaining her status as a world-class athlete.

Mother Nature

Lieber’s documentary utilises news and family footage from the time of the accident as well as floating head interviews with Hamilton and her loved ones. Hamilton herself is slightly stiff on camera, which adds to her charm. Despite gaining almost celebrity-like status after the accident and after Soul Surfer was released, Hamilton still seems uncomfortable and awkward in front of the camera, making her an unlikely sports superstar.

Unstoppable focuses on Hamilton’s accident, the fame and the aftermath of it all. Hamilton has also had a child with her husband, which brings another dimension to her story as a woman with a disability, but who hasn’t let that change her life. It would have been nice to see how such a huge trauma did in fact change her day-to-day life, warts and all, juxtaposed with her skills and grace on a surf board but Lieber is more interested in the character of Hamilton than the everyday activities of her life.

Unstoppable features some truly gorgeous shots of the ocean, which is framed as something terrifying and beautiful; like Mother Nature at her wildest, most dangerous. The ocean can give, but it can also take, hiding dangerous creatures under the roaring blue waves. This is where the film shines and these scenes deserve to be witnessed on the biggest possible screen.

Just Keep Swimming

Unstoppable doesn’t manage to dig deep enough into its subject to rise above a perfectly fine documentary. One sequence details Hamilton’s insecurity over her future, especially financially after she is unsuccessful in a competition. This is something that could have been explored further, but much of the screen time is committed to old footage from the time of her accident.

Interviews with Oprah and other talk show hosts are used to give us a glimpse into a younger Hamilton, still a very well composed and calm pre-teen who has just lost an arm. Her calmness and lack of anger is at time infuriating, but also incredibly inspiring. This surely is an attitude we could all utilise; don’t sweat the small stuff, just keep swimming. Or surfing in this case.

It might be inspirational but a great documentary it doesn’t make. All good films, especially documentaries have conflict and that is lacking from Lieber’s film. It all seems a bit glossed over, a bit too easy. The film flows well and is constantly engrossing, but never engaging. Hamilton’s trauma is so severe and shocking, it’s hard to put yourself in her shoes when most of haven’t and never will go through such an ordeal.

Lieber fails to bring forth Hamilton’s personality and the nuances in it. She’s almost too perfect, too inspiring. Characters, real or works of fiction, are always more interesting when they’re at least a little bit flawed, it makes them approachable and human.

Lieber shoots Hamilton with clarity and honesty. Her body is shown completely, missing arm and everything. You can see the strength and stamina in her, the outlines of her muscles and the residual limb. It is shown in all its strength and glory, treated and portrayed rightly as the body of an athlete. Films and documentaries featuring disabled bodies often cling to the representation and physical presentation of the disability.

Here, the camera doesn’t linger on her residual limb, there’s no gaze that directs our attention and emotion towards Hamilton and her injury. Our empathy comes from observing her perseverance through Lieber’s storytelling.

Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable: Does It Catch The Wave Or Is It Stuck In The Shallows?

Aaron Lieber’s documentary is an interesting look into a life of an athlete, who just happens to be missing an arm. The film is somewhat stuck between exploring Hamilton’s past and her present and can’t seem to decide on an angle.

Regardless, it’s almost impossible not to be moved by her strength and attitude. Hamilton comes across as a humble mother, am ambitious surfer and a strong woman and Lieber wisely gives her the space to be herself, even if she’s not specifically comfortable in front of a camera. More focus on the more mundane parts of her life would have helped us get closer to her but Unstoppable is an entertaining and rousing documentary about the Soul Surfer.

What did you think of the documentary? Let us know in the comments!

Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable is released in the US on July 12th.