Following up CODA was never going to be an easy task. Sian Heder’s last film, CODA, won Best Picture at the Oscars, so expectations were very high for her follow-up to it. Being Heumann tells another story centered around disabled people, once again attempting to bring an important and underrepresented chapter of disability rights history to a mainstream audience.
The story absolutely deserves to be told. There is a really important message at the heart of it, but unfortunately, Heder’s follow-up to CODA feels like a huge step down. It has a lot of heart along with some genuinely unique ideas, but the execution is surprisingly flat for the most part. This is a film that clearly wants to move and inspire its audience, yet too often feels like it is following a familiar blueprint rather than finding its own identity.
The biggest problem is that Being Heumann is simply too safe and by-the-numbers. The story has plenty of opportunities to explore the complexities of disability activism, institutional resistance, and the personal sacrifices involved in fighting for meaningful change. But the screenplay repeatedly settles for the most predictable route. Decent ideas appear throughout the film, and when it reaches tougher territory, it becomes considerably more interesting.
Unfortunately, it rarely commits to those ideas. One particularly frustrating example is the attempt to explore the government’s perspective, especially Joseph Califano (played by Ruffalo). The film initially seems like it is going to provide a more nuanced understanding of the opposition and the political obstacles involved, but just when it begins heading in an interesting direction, it abandons that thread halfway through.
The characters also felt underwritten. I struggled to care about any of them in particular, which becomes a significant problem for a story that depends so heavily on the emotional investment of its audience. Ruth Madeley is the biggest weak link. She clearly tries to bring confidence and conviction to the titular role, but I never found her performance particularly convincing, and the character itself is often difficult to like. That makes it challenging to connect with her journey even when the material is clearly designed to generate an emotional response.
Mark Ruffalo and Dylan O’Brien are also surprisingly wasted, despite both being given characters that initially appear to have more interesting directions to explore. Their presence adds some energy to the film, but neither is given enough material to make the kind of impact you would expect from actors of their calibre.
To its credit, Being Heumann is not completely devoid of energy. There is quite a bit of humor throughout, and several energetic moments help break up the more straightforward portions of the story. The film also has a lot of heart, and its central message remains undeniably important. The inspirational nature of the real-life events comes through, particularly when the film focuses on the collective effort behind the movement rather than trying to manufacture individual emotional moments.
The pacing doesn’t help either. Being Heumann feels at least 15–20 minutes too long. It could have been trimmed considerably without losing anything important. By the time the film reaches its conclusion, the emotional payoff feels underwhelming. The ending is particularly lackluster given the significance of the story being told. This should have been a triumphant final stretch, but instead it arrives with relatively little impact.
Being Heumann is well-intentioned but frustratingly flat. It has a lot of warmth and a strong message, but unfortunately, good intentions and an inspiring true story can only take a film so far. Sian Heder clearly has a passion for this material, but compared to CODA, this feels like a surprisingly conventional and formulaic follow-up. It has a predictable structure, a wasted supporting cast and a lackluster ending. I don’t see this one getting anywhere near the People’s Choice Award this year.
Being Heumann premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival 2026.
