Unstoppable
A fresh take on the Sports Biopic
Unstoppable is the incredible true story of Anthony Robles, the 2011 NCAA wrestling champion.
Unstoppable is the incredible true story of Anthony Robles, the 2011 NCAA wrestling champion despite being born without a right leg. Written by Eric Champnella, Alex Harris, and John Hindman and directed by Oscar-winning editor William Goldenberg (Argo), the story of Robles, although clearly influenced by typical sports biopic tropes, hits every beat with precision and artistry.
The film, now streaming on Prime, features compelling performances from Jharrel Jerome as Anthony and Jennifer Lopez as his mother, Judy. Jennifer Lopez’s performance is one of her best. I found myself often forgetting it was her, she had a way of drawing me into her character as she fully embodied her. Equally so, Jerome, although able-bodied, is quite possibly the only choice to play Anthony Robles. His performance carried the film as he delivered his best performance yet.
Although admittedly heavily relying upon fiction, Unstoppable gives us a sneak peek into the life of Anthony as he goes from a hard-working high schooler to NCAA champion. When Judy’s husband, Rick, leaves her, Anthony promises to always be there for her - meaning he turns down a full ride to Drexel in favor of walking on at ASU. Now he has to prove himself to make the team while showing up for his mom and younger siblings. The majority of the film centers around the latter years of Anthony’s time at ASU as he competes in the NCAA championships against University of Iowa’s Matt McDonough.
Many have criticized the film for using what they call the “disability trope,” but I don’t think it’s fair to call it a trope. In reality, it’s just a fact of life and I found Anthony to be a great depiction of a strong, multi-layered character - even if you remove the fact that he has one leg. Anthony doesn’t want to be known as the best one-legged wrestler, he wants to be known as the best wrestler. He doesn’t want people to know him for his disability and when we look at this film as a story of disability, we reduce Anthony to just that. In reality, the story is so much deeper than that. Anthony comes from a broken home, his step-father makes sure he knows he’s not his real son, his family is in constant financial turmoil, Rick is verbally and physically abusive, and wrestling gets cut from ASU. His story is one of resilience and determination in so many aspects of his life, not just through his disability.
Anthony even says to his high school coach, played by Michael Peña, “If I win, having one leg won’t be the most important thing about me.”
I think this film is asking us to view Anthony’s story as more than just that of his physical disability. As with anyone, there is so much more going on behind the scenes and his successes mean more than just overcoming what many see as his biggest difficulty.
To watch Anthony work harder than many others on his high school and ASU’s team is inspiring; it reminds us how much many of us take for granted. Anthony rarely complains - even when he’s expected to run miles around the track holding weights or trail run up a mountain - both on crutches. He never expects to be treated differently because of his physical differences. Anthony Robles’ story is inspiring and I’m glad Amazon MGM Studios is bringing it to a larger audience through Unstoppable.
