'So much' is powerful look at ALS

By Jeff Vice
Deseret Morning News

SO MUCH SO FAST — *** 1/2 — Documentary feature about Lou Gehrig's disease research; not rated, probable PG-13 (drugs, profanity, vulgarity).
The documentary "So Much So Fast" quite clearly shows how much we still don't know about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
But it's not just a film about the frustrations of medical science. "So much" is also a very compelling human story.
The film also gains some power with the realization that its main subject, Stephen Heywood, died last month after suffering for years from symptoms caused by the degenerative, neuromuscular disorder.


West City FilmsStephen Heywood holds his son, Alex, in "So Much So Fast." As a result, it's a very strong follow-up to the Oscar-nominated 1996 documentary "Troublesome Creek" for filmmakers Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan, who had their own personal experience with ALS when Jordan's mother, Mary Jane, died from the disease.
"So Much" profiles Heywood, a designer and builder who refused to surrender to despair after being diagnosed with ALS, a so-called "orphan disease" (one that affects fewer than a million people, and as a consequence receives less funding from pharmaceutical companies).
And neither does Stephen's older brother Jamie, who quit his job as an engineer to start his own nonprofit research facility, with a staff working tirelessly to discover a cure — or at least develop drugs that will prolong the lives of ALS sufferers.
The film is quite effective as it traces the physical toll the disease takes on Stephen. Footage shows him regress over time as he walks without aid at first — only to end up using a walker and then a wheelchair, and then, though still lively, becomes bedridden.
Almost as heartbreaking is the toll it takes on Jamie, whose marriage and career are both threatened by his efforts to aid his brother. You have to admire Ascher and Jordan's restraint in dealing with the brothers' personal lives, though that subject matter is broached here as well.
"So Much So Fast" is not rated but would probably receive a PG-13 for drug content (use and discussion of various pharmaceuticals) and some frank sexual language (including profanity and crude slang terms). Running time: 87 minutes.
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650213224,00.html