“Restless Creature” is an affecting portrait of an artist’s passion, and the toll it takes.
“Wendy Whelan: Restless Creature” is directed by Linda Saffire and Adam Schlesinger.
Ballet dancers are artists, but they are also athletes, something that Wendy Whelan: Restless Creature makes eminently clear. Despite the stereotype of ballet being a delicate, gentle art form, the practice takes an incredible physical toll over the course of a dancer’s career. No one knows this better than Wendy Whelan, the documentary’s subject, and dancer for the New York City Ballet for close to thirty years. At the time the film begins, Whelan is 46, far past the typical retirement age for a ballet dancer. She dreads retirement but knows that she cannot keep dancing forever. Ballet is her entire life. It’s a scenario familiar to all professional athletes: the sheer physical demand of your passion makes it an unsustainable one.
Whelan is suffering from pain in her hip, and soon discovers that she has a labral tear, necessitating surgery. Restless Creature depicts Whelan’s surgery and its aftermath, as she eyes retirement and attempts to make the most of her dance career’s final months. The film does not shy away from the brutality, emotional and otherwise of all of this. The surgery scene itself is surprisingly graphic (several in my screening could be seen shifting uncomfortably in their seats).
The film does not spend an inordinate amount of time acquainting us with Whelan and the specifics of her life. There is a quick montage covering the trajectory of her career early in the film, which otherwise assumes at least some familiarity with her (I was not familiar with Whelan before watching the film, and my only exposure to ballet has been, er, Black Swan). It all ends up working anyhow. Whelan’s passion for ballet is self-evident. It’s enough to know that she is successful in her chosen discipline, but that she still hungers. Her journey is one of acceptance, and it is gratifying to witness.
If I have any complaints about Restless Creature, it’s that it sometimes misses an opportunity for even greater emotional investment. For instance, in the film’s most striking moment, Whelan receives a prolonged, tearful embrace after a performance from an individual that we’ve never seen before and never seen again. There’s a backstory implied here, and a tantalizing one. It’s curious that the filmmakers wouldn’t choose to fill us in in any way.
Whelan herself has a winning, likable persona. She is generally cheerful, but we can often spot doubt under the surface. There is one moment where she breaks down in tears. It is brief, and you can tell she is fighting it, making it all the more affecting. The filmmakers get us to root for someone who has already a attained a level of success in her field that many dream of, but few reach.
The film also does a good job illustrating the sheer amount of laborious work and dedication it takes to perform dance at the highest level. We see just how Whelan worked for what she has.
Wendy Whelan: Restless Creature made me, someone completely ignorant about ballet, take it very seriously for ninety minutes. It’s a warm, sweet film, well worth seeking out.
The film premiered at the New York Film Festival. Get your tickets here: https://www.filmlinc.org/nyff2016/films/restless-creature-wendy-whelan/
-Anthony Calamunci
