The Waterdance is a timely and touching drama about the dynamics of recovery. Eric Stoltz plays a talented writer who winds up in a rehab center after a hiking accident leaves him permanently paralyzed from the waist down. His patience and empathy are tested by two other paraplegics on the ward — a racist biker (William Forsythe) and a rambunctious black man (Wesley Snipes) whose past womanizing has led his wife to divorce him. The screenplay by director Neal Jimenez (River's Edge) humanizes the struggle of these people with disabilities as they square off against fear, anger, loneliness, and despair. The quiet dignity and charm of Helen Hunt as Stoltz's loving but conflicted girlfriend deserves special mention.