The incredibly powerful, moving documentary film on Steve Gleason's life opens with his face pressed up close to the camera, having an intimate conversation with his unborn son.
But it also feels as if he is talking directly to us, the audience.
"My No. 1 focus and purpose is to share with you who I am. And to give you as much of myself as I possibly can, while I can," Gleason says.
And, wow, does he deliver.
Gleason, the former New Orleans Saints special teamer/cult hero, made one of the greatest plays in team history with his blocked punt on the night the Superdome reopened after Hurricane Katrina. Then he became a celebrated champion for those suffering from ALS after he was diagnosed with the merciless disease in 2011. A statue of him titled, "Rebirth" was erected outside of the Superdome to honor both achievements.
But in this film, Gleason reveals things like five minutes after he got home from that statue ceremony, "I pooped all over myself and my wheelchair."
"And I think it's crazy that I can go from people saying, 'You're my hero' to having to be helped onto a toilet with my pants full of s---," Gleason tells the camera, tells his son, tells all of us.
"It's an incredible example of the polarities and dichotomies and juxtapositions that is my life."
Gleason and his wife Michel Varisco share the most intimate moments of their lives in "Gleason," which opens Friday in select cities throughout the country. Their greatest triumphs and struggles are equally laid bare for the audience.
Tear-jerking moments like the birth of their son Rivers, or the gift they give to a fellow ALS patient as their Team Gleason foundation begins its remarkable mission.
Gut-wrenching moments like Gleason screaming to the camera, "I want to punch something, but I can't!" or wailing to his father, "My soul is saved!"
"I probably should have thought of it, because Steve is who he is. But every day, the stuff that they filmed, I had no idea how big it would get." Michel Varisco
Intimate moments like Steve apologizing to Michel in the bathroom, or pestering her about why they've become so distant.
And, believe it or not, many moments of biting humor -- even when Gleason is receiving an enema.
"Honestly, I had no idea that this was gonna be ..." Michel says, before catching herself. "I probably should have thought of it, because Steve is who he is. But every day, the stuff that they filmed, I had no idea how big it would get.
"And I think that's why it's so raw and real and I'm wearing Steve's underwear for half the movie."
Documenting the true version of Gleason
What makes the film so raw and so real is that it started out as a series of video journals that Gleason began producing for his child when they first found out Michel was pregnant just six weeks after he was diagnosed -- not knowing if they would ever truly get the chance to know each other.
"I wanted to be sure he didn't get the 'storybook sports dad' version of me," Gleason said via email this week. "I wanted him to know the raw, imperfect, flailing person that we all are, especially me."
So he recorded everything -- first by himself with a camcorder or cellphone, then later with young filmmakers Ty Minton-Small and David Lee, who basically moved in with the family.
Only later was the idea generated to make a film that could help bring awareness to the plight of those battling ALS around the globe, which was when accomplished documentary filmmaker Clay Tweel joined the project.
"I'm so proud of Steve and Michel, to have the courage and willingness to share their story," said former Saints linebacker Scott Fujita, a close friend who helped spearhead the project as a first-time movie producer. "Everyone who's seen this film walks away from it feeling something [even if they're] unable to articulate exactly what that something is. They're angry, they're excited, they're happy, they laughed, they cried. But they're inspired to do something, and that's a good thing.
"It sticks on you."
Gleason admitted that he still gets "extremely anxious" before each screening of the movie at film festivals or premieres -- much like how he felt preparing for a game during his seven-year playing career.
"It's exciting. Crazy, but exciting," Gleason said this week. "The decision to share the footage was not easy, and I wouldn't say Michel or I are completely comfortable with it. But we also had a feeling that the footage could have an impact on an audience beyond football or ALS. That seems to be the case as the movie has rolled out. People who have no connection to ALS or football are connecting to and being changed by the film."
Michel, who is extremely candid in the film about having no desire to be a "hero" or a "saint," said it has been affirming to hear from people like a woman she met after a screening in Washington D.C. who has a spouse with ALS and couldn't wait for all of her friends and family to see the film.
"It's always gonna feel weird," Michel said. "But the more the movie is seen and the more we see how it's impacting people and affecting people, it's so tremendous that it makes sharing our complete private, intimate life -- it makes it more bearable. It makes it OK. ... It makes me feel proud of all of us."
Bringing Gleason's story to the screen
Another of Gleason's former teammates, Drew Brees, signed on with his wife Brittany to help fund the project as a co-executive producer.
Brees' own 2010 memoir/motivational book was titled, "Coming Back Stronger" as he shared his story of returning from a major injury. But Brees said when it comes to the idea of overcoming adversity, Gleason is "absolutely the best example I could ever think of."
"Listen, none of us know what we would ever do if we were faced with our own mortality, how that would affect us," Brees said. "And I think in this film you see the struggles and the phases that he goes through with coping with that reality. ... And yet, just the power of the mind and the spirit, which he has more than any person I've ever known, it just gives you so much hope."
The documentary premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and was quickly bought by Amazon Studios, which is partnering with Open Road Films to release the movie. "Gleason" has earned rave reviews and awards at various festivals throughout the year -- as well as some Oscar buzz.
Fujita admitted those types of things were mentioned in early beer-and-pizza planning sessions with another original producer -- Michel's former college roommate, Kimi Culp -- but it never seemed like a realistic goal until much later.
Fujita and Culp were the ones who gathered together several investors, including Brees and other NFL players and coaches. And they were the ones who sought out a director to take an estimated 1,300 hours of footage and craft it into a masterpiece.
Tweel was the perfect choice, not only for his skills as a director but because of the personal connection he felt with the project. Tweel's sister has multiple sclerosis, and his father was Muhammad Ali's attorney for 30 years.
"... the power of the mind and the spirit, which he has more than any person I've ever known, it just gives you so much hope." Drew Brees
"I got sent a little teaser trailer clip a couple years ago. It was heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once," Tweel said of what attracted him to the project. "It just moved me in a way that I haven't been moved before, and it was only six minutes long."
Tweel said what makes the film so special is not only the intimate footage but Steve and Michel themselves.
"They are hilarious. And they totally light up a room, and it's such a joy to be in their presence, that we wanted to get that across, too," Tweel said.
'Just a normal father'
Although Michel doesn't want to be a hero, she emerges as the co-star -- if not the star -- of this film. The camera often reveals her silent plight -- the fear in her eyes when she notices Steve starting to lose his physical abilities, how drained she looks as she feeds both Steve and Rivers at the same time.
And she bluntly delivers lines like, "I don't want to be like a devil or a d---face, but I don't want to be a saint either. I just want to be a real person."
Another scene stealer is Blair Casey, a family friend of Michel's who became an invaluable part of the family as a caretaker.
They have more help now, with a small team of caregivers joining that "family" while Michel is focusing on motherhood and her artwork, and Casey is working full-time for the foundation. But Gleason said, "Blair and Michel represent the best of that support."
"Luckily I had their humor and strength as we adapted to this new life," Gleason said.
And then there is Rivers, who isn't featured heavily in the film but remains its heart and soul.
As the movie began taking shape, Gleason envisioned it focusing on the relationship between fathers and sons, with his complicated relationship with his own father also dissected in several powerful scenes.
One of the many tear-jerking moments in the film comes when Gleason tells Rivers: "At this point it looks like we're not gonna have the normal father-son relationship. I can't play catch with you ... but I'm gonna do everything I can to be a good father, to give you what a son needs from his father. And I'm gonna be around, buddy.
"It's not gonna be easy, but it's gonna be awesome. And I'm gonna be around until you are able to stand on your own as a man."
Rivers is almost 5 years old now, and as I watched that scene, I was taken back to a recent conversation I had with Gleason at a charity softball game, when I asked him about Rivers' budding baseball career. Like any typical father, Gleason proudly offered to show off some video clips.
If you're looking for a happy ending to Gleason's story, that is it, as much as anything else he and Team Gleason have accomplished with the Steve Gleason Act being signed into law or a state-of-the-art care facility being built in New Orleans or the Ice Bucket Challenge turning into a national phenomenon.
"With the help of an incredible care crew, and some bad-ass technology, I pick [Rivers] up from school every day," Gleason said. "We have excellent conversation. I go to all his practices. I'm teaching him the nuances of baseball. We listen to a wide range of music. In many ways, I feel like we've conquered ALS, and it's great to have our foundation help others do the same.
"For Rivers, I'm just a normal father. For me, that's very exciting."