For starters, it is unfair to compare this movie to last year's Patriots Day because both movies including this one involve the Boston Marathon and the tragic bombing. But, Patriots Day examined sort of how the bombing started and also the spirit of the Boston community wrapped under one person while the FBI and the local authorities are professional in finding the bombers. However, it did make the mistake of having that spirit in one person and not in other characters and that, in my opinion, lacked some memorability with that movie even though it did a solid job organizing of how the investigation unfolded.
With this movie, Stronger examines a person who want through a traumatic experience that changed his life forever in both a psychological and physical standpoint. The movie delves into one true character's story that is not uplifting throughout but you root for him because he did not deserve the pain. He was an innocent bystander. And, because of two great performances and a familiar but inspiring arc, this is a very good movie that is soulful and touching.
Jeff Bauman (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a regular joe in Boston who works at Cost-Co. He loves to drink to get away from his depression, for example, he just broke up with his ex-girlfriend, Erin (Tatiana Maslany). Erin shows up at the bart to get donations for the Boston Marathon run as she is going to support the hospital. Jeff rallies everyone to donate and tells Erin that he will show up, but she doubts it because he always late at showing up. Later, Jeff shows up at the Marathon, holding up a sign to support Erin. Erin is in the middle of the race when the explosions go off, near where Jeff was standing. She is shocked that Jeff is one of the victims involved while watching the news.
The doctors tell his mother and father, Patty and Big Jeff (Miranda Richardson and Clancy Brown), that Jeff's legs need to be amputated. Jeff wakes after the surgery and asks on writing if Erin is all right and that he saw the bomber. Erin stays with Jeff while the nurses remove the breathing tube in order for him to talk to the FBI. Later, one of the bombers is killed and the other is arrested. Because of his efforts, Jeff is declared a local hero and becomes the face of the "Boston Strong" movement. He is not comfortable being labeled a hero as he is struggling to face the rest of his life with not using his legs ever again.
The main reason why I liked this movie a lot is because even though it is a familiar arc about a person not seeming or feeling like a hero, he is not quite a "picture-perfect" person. He is quite a jerk at certain moments in which he wants to drink while driving and he screams at Erin to "help someone else". He even does not show up to all of his rehabilitation appointments. Also, I thought director David Gordon Green's approach focuses on the best component which is Erin's and Jeff's growing relationship as she is attempting to care for him again while we witness Jeff's recovery as Green focuses on to Jeff's confusion as to why he is labeled a hero.
Jake Gyllenhaal does not overact with his Boston accent as I felt that I was not watching Gyllenhaal anymore. I was watching Jeff Batman facing his troubling reality after losing his legs as Erin attempts to calm him down and cheer him up a bit. The actor is gone. Gyllenhaal gives one of his best performances of his career. I think her performance will be overlooked but I thought Tatiana Maslany was sensational and was equal to the task of performing toe to toe with Gyllenhaal. She is given more range and more to do than just being a person trying to care for Jake's character. And, Miranda Richardson and Clancy Brown are quite solid as his parents.
Green did a great job on focusing on the exploration of how a person is dealing with a being hero from both an internal and external angle. Internally, we see him Jeff raging at people we care about even though they do not deserve it but we understand his pain. Externally, especially in a very emotionally moving scene at a Red Sox game, we see people thanking Jeff and that sequence will earn some tears. The people outside his family circle empathize with him. Even though there are a few cliches in this story especially during the middle of his recovery, it does not delay the whole movie or destroyed my experience. Stronger is a serious examination of the human condition that does not overreach or does not defer to many cliches.
***1/2
Comments
Post a Comment