USA Today, 28 April 2005
By Bill Keveney
**Thanks, Lena

Franklin Delano Roosevelt took on the Depression. He showed steely resolve during World War II. But it was an earlier challenge, polio, that molded the untested son of privilege into a world leader.

'Warm Springs', a new HBO film (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT), chronicles the future four-term president's struggle with polio, which appeared to sink a promising political career when it struck him in 1921 at age 39.

Roosevelt was forced to use a wheelchair. His efforts to strengthen his withered legs led him to the Georgia backwater of Warm Springs, where magnesium-rich waters gave buoyancy and warmth for patients seeking rehabilitation.

"There was this seven-year odyssey for a man trying to walk again, never mind realistically restart a political career. This must have had a profound impact on (his) character. He was in pain a great deal of the time," says Kenneth Branagh (Conspiracy), who plays FDR. "It wasn't so much that he made huge improvements, but he found a place that made him happy. The impact of that complete change of life is something we forget about."

Polio gave Roosevelt a connection with others facing uphill battles, whether against illness, poverty or discrimination. And life in rural Georgia helped Roosevelt develop the common touch as he met and talked with farmers and local residents, Branagh says.

'Warm Springs' also is the story of Eleanor Roosevelt (Sex and the City's Cynthia Nixon), who starts the movie feeling betrayed by her husband's relationship with Lucy Mercer before finding her own strength, dealing with his disability and becoming a speaker and activist. In the process, she stands up to FDR's strong-willed mother, Sara, played by Jane Alexander (an earlier Eleanor in Eleanor and Franklin).

The couple "go on parallel journeys but end up coming back together much closer than they ever were before," says screenwriter Margaret Nagle, who praises the portrayals of Branagh and Nixon in the Joseph Sargent-directed film.

That Branagh is English is a help, not a hindrance, Nagle says, noting that Roosevelt's Victorian-style upbringing has ties to British life. Branagh studied FDR's diction, learning there was "no hard R" when he pronounced words such as "fear."

As for appearance, "it's haircut, glasses and cigarette holder. (With those), you'd be looking like FDR," Branagh tells a reporter.

FDR's polio has been depicted before, most memorably in 1960's Sunrise at Campobello. Franklin and Winston author Jon Meacham credits Nagle, whose brother suffered a spinal-cord injury, with exploring the physical and emotional lows as well as the heroic highs. In one scene, FDR, supported by two strong men, struggles to stand so he can urinate.

"Few dramatists have so successfully plumbed the psychological battles that FDR faced," says Meacham, who was a consultant.

He praises the film, much of which was shot at Warm Springs, for its historical accuracy, including depiction of real-life FDR adviser Louis Howe (David Paymer) and physical therapist Helena Mahoney (Kathy Bates). Nagle says the budget precluded filming at Campobello, where it is believed FDR contracted polio, but says she is happy she was able to include so many real events.

"The postman there really did read the mail" before distributing it to residents, she says. "The truth is so much more interesting."