‘Being Heumann’ review: Ruth Madeley impresses as US disability advocate Judy Heumann in broad period drama

Dir: Sian Heder. US. 2026. 127mins

When she died in 2023 aged 75, disability advocate Judy Heumann was remembered as a fearless fighter who did not hesitate to make a nuisance of herself in order to raise awareness for the cause she cared so deeply about. Being Heumann pays tribute to her rebellious spirit through Ruth Madeley’s bulldozer performance as this period drama chronicles Heumann’s bold organizing of a 26-day sit-in at the San Francisco Federal Building in 1977. The new film from CODA director Sian Heder sports a similarly inspirational vibe, once again spotlighting a community rarely featured on screen. But although Being Heumann has an important civil-rights story to tell, it’s executed in disappointingly broad fashion.

Reduces a major moment in the history of disability rights to just another feel-good picture

The film sees Heder reuniting with Apple, which released the Best Picture-winning CODA. After opening Toronto, Being Heumann screens at the London Film Festival before hitting US theatres on November 6. (The film will then be available on Apple’s platform the following week.) The 2020 Oscar-nominated documentary Crip Campndemonstrated there is a growing audience for sensitive films about people with disabilities, and Mark Ruffalo provides additional star power in a supporting role.

Contracting polio as a child and using a wheelchair as an adult, Judy Heumann (Madeley) is a leader in the battle for disabled rights, pushing for The Department Of Health, Education And Welfare (HEW) to implement a newly signed law that allows access to public buildings for those with disabilities, including installing ramps and accessible bathrooms. After years of being stonewalled, she decides to organize a rally at the San Francisco Federal Building – which quickly escalates into an occupation of the fourth floor. The group seeks to speak with HEW Secretary Joseph Califano (Ruffalo), who resists approving this implementation because of how expensive it will be. But Heumann refuses to budge, threatening a hunger strike if her demands are not met.

Flaunting upbeat but familiar needle drops to bolster the story’s upbeat vibe, Being Heumann celebrates the power of protest, mixing urgent messaging with an irreverent sense of humour. Heder, who co-wrote the screenplay, views disability advocacy as righteous, but that does not preclude her from portraying Heumann’s lovable misfits as a motley crew of goofballs – some of whom use their off-hours during the sit-in to enjoy some naughty free time in a makeshift ‘sex tent’. The protestors included Blind and Deaf characters, as well as those diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, but the picture wants the viewer to focus on them as individuals.

Early in Being Heumann, we see Heumann bravely zooming through New York traffic, flipping off an impatient driver who loudly honks at her. Later, she turns her wheelchair into a battering ram, more indication of her blunt advocacy style. Madeley is a treat as this unapologetically brusque woman who does not worry about charming her fellow protestors or Califano in order to get what she wants. There are a few attempts to give the character some nuance — Heumann’s loyal second-in-command Kitty Cone (Madeline Delp) argues that her ego too often guides her decisions — but the film is more effective when poking gentle fun at Heumann’s unyielding manner. This is most endearing once Heder introduces a strapping love interest (Jon Beavers) for the uptight Heumann.

But whereas CODA’s sentimentality was counterbalanced by the sincerity of the performances, Being Heumann frequently settles into a cutesy tone that diminishes the stakes of this sit-in, which was the longest occupation of a federal building in US history. The film explains the worrying logistics Heumann must navigate — namely, many of her fellow protestors have serious medical conditions that make such a lengthy sit-in potentially dangerous — but Heder’s breezy approach practically assures the audience that all will end happily, negating the enormous risks this group took for their cause. Along those lines, Ruffalo’s one-note portrayal of the spineless Califano makes him too cardboard of a villain, robbing Heumann’s faceoffs with him of real suspense.

The picture certainly boasts lump-in-the-throat emotional moments, most potently during a scene in which the protestors offer heartfelt testimony about how society has discriminated against them. As predictable as Being Heumann can be as an underdog narrative, Heder’s clear affection for her characters shines through. And it should not be discounted how rare it is to see a major motion picture starring disabled, Deaf and Blind performers who get to play characters with significant screen time and dimensionality. But, unfortunately, those good intentions are diminished when Heder reduces a major moment in the history of disability rights to just another feel-good picture.