Bending Steel Review
By David Kempler
Clark Kent Wants to be Superman
Remember the good old days of the sideshows in Coney Island that featured the bearded lady, dancing midgets, and the strong man? Me neither, but I have heard of them. In "Bending Steel", Dave Carroll and Ryan Scafuro's documentary, their subject is Chris Schoeck, a non-imposing man who wants to take his place among the legendary strong men. He may not look the part, but he is plenty strong.
Schoeck is a 43 year-old man with thinning hair and a mild demeanor. He is compact and pretty powerfully built, but he does not conjure up what one expects when one thinks of the Herculian type. Carroll and Scufaro follow him through his quest to be able to bend a large piece of steel. He is obsessed with it, yet he is somewhat unsure of himself. At times he seems to be trying to convince himself of almost everything he believes in.
As more of his personality is revealed, there is something about him that makes us feel uncomfortable watching him. It's that Schoeck is almost childlike among the other strong men we meet while he is on his personal journey to find a purpose to his life. In one particularly candid moment he tells us that his relationship with trying to bend steel is more rewarding than what most people get out of a relationship with another human being. You can't help but feel a bit sorry for him when he says that.
Schoeck has a huge idol in a legendary strong man nicknamed the Mighty Atom. His real name was Joseph Greenstein and he was a star early in the twentieth century. He is a worthy idol who was once shot between his eyebrows, only to leave the hospital the same day. At five feet and four inches and 140 pounds, he performed feats that seem impossible, but they were documented. Among them was bending a horseshoe by holding one end with his teeth while one end of the bar was held fixed in a vise. Schoeck wants to follow in his footsteps and along with a crew of other more accomplished strong men, he is determined to become a legend in his own right.
Chris Schoeck is someone you can't help but root for. There is nothing mean or evil that comes through. He is an unsure man who shows the trepidation of a young boy getting his feet wet for the first time. Even more than hoping he attains his goal, I hope he comes out of his shell and can one day relate to another human being as well as he can to inanimate objects, else he will have stolen a chance at his own happiness from himself.
