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There’s a real undercurrent of anger and frustration in the documentary Patrice: The Movie. It should be rage.
But rage isn’t something any of its subjects can give into. Not when they’re struggling to access basic necessities like transportation or exercise fundamental human rights such as marrying the person they love.
It’s so unfair and draconian that one of the shrewdest choices on director Ted Passon’s part is getting to know the adorable couple who are the film’s heart and soul before we get familiar with the many systemic obstacles in their way. Patrice and her partner, Garry, a wheelchair user with cerebral palsy, are both disabled and eager to tie the knot, only to discover that they would both lose the benefits they depend on if they so much as moved in together.
And there’s more, since what really sets the teeth on edge is that something far more basic becomes the doc’s main impediment: a car. Like so many who live on the financial edge, the loss of her car sends Patrice into a spiral, made more complicated by arbitrary bureaucratic standards that include limits on her account balance and income.
What emerges, however, are not the many roadblocks to happiness for Patrice and Garry, nor their tragic familial trauma, which Patrice relates in a play wherein she plays herself and casts children as various other people in her life as a quirky framing device. She and Garry are worth our time for the joy they’ve found, from the miniature town Patrice builds in her home to their Special Olympics competitions, and eventually, their activism in Washington, D.C.
Patrice shines so brightly, in fact, that Passon’s onscreen absence is barely noticeable. He takes an observational approach that works wonders, but context can’t help but feel lacking. How the director got involved and helped shape the story is a mystery that perhaps should be cleared up, but still, Patrice: The Movie leaves audiences better for having seen it. 102 min.
Hulu, limited release in theaters
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