Movie Review: Stronger

Stronger **** / *****

Directed by: David Gordon Green.

Written by: John Pollono based on the book by Jeff Bauman and Bret Witter.

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal (Jeff Bauman), Tatiana Maslany (Erin Hurley), Miranda Richardson (Patty Bauman), Richard Lane Jr. (Sully), Nate Richman (Big D), Lenny Clarke (Uncle Bob), Patricia O'Neil (Aunt Jenn), Clancy Brown (Big Jeff), Kate Fitzgerald (Aunt Karen), Danny McCarthy (Kevin), Frankie Shaw (Gail Hurley), Carlos Sanz (Carlos).

 

Movies like Stronger – that are based on real world tragedies – are difficult to pull off. They often dwell in the details of the day in question, risking rubbernecking at tragedy, before ending with some sort of phony uplift that ignores all the lasting pain the event has caused. The previews for Stronger – based on the true life story of Jeff Bauman, a young man who lost both his legs below the knee in the Boston Marathon Bombing – make it look like one of those phony inspirational movies that aim to make us all feel great again. The film itself though isn’t that – at least not quite. This is a film that dwells on that middle ground – the long, hard road between the tragedy and uplifting ending – a period when it really doesn’t seem like everything is okay – and may never be okay again.

 

As Bauman – the young, cocky Boston native who works at Costco as a chicken cook, Jake Gyllenhaal adds another impressive performance to a growing list of strong work. In the opening scenes – before the blasts – he almost seems like a background player in Good Will Hunting come to life, but in a mostly charming way. His on-again, off-again girlfriend Erin (Tatiana Maslany) is off-again – she’s frustrated that he doesn’t seem to want to grow up or show up – anywhere – but he assures her – when she crosses the finish line at the Marathon, he’ll be there – with a big, homemade sign for her and everything. We know how that turns out.

 

In the aftermath of the bombing, Bauman becomes a symbol for Boston Strong – they want him on talk shows, they want him at Bruins and Red Sox games – everyone recognizes him, and everyone thinks he’s a hero. But Jeff doesn’t think that way – he doesn’t know what is heroic about having his legs blown off. When someone tells him that he “showed the terrorists that they can’t win” – he responds “From where I’m sitting, it looks like they at least got on the scoreboard”. He drinks more, he slacks off on his rehab assignments – his relationship with Erin – which is now on-again – becomes strained. He is enabled by his family – especially his mother, Patty (Miranda Richardson) – who drinks a lot herself, and just wants everyone to see how great and strong her son is. He certainly doesn’t feel heroic – he simply wants to move on with his life. But how do you do that with no legs?

 

Gyllenhaal and Maslany are the reason to see the film, as they give remarkable performances, from the outside in. For Gyllenhaal, there seems to be a realization that what he needs to overcome is something internal – he’s not beating “it” – but beating something inside himself, that wants to wallow in self-pity. Maslany has, in some ways, the more difficult role – the ever supportive wife/girlfriend in these inspirational movies have sunk many a talented actress, who cannot breathe life into the stereotype – but that’s not what she asked to play here. She has her own struggle – as much as she loves Jeff, she isn’t going to stick around and be a nurse to him, or watch him destroy himself.

 

The film was directed by David Gordon Green – and it shows the talent that was readily apparent in his first (and best) movie George Washington – and its indie follow-ups before he went Hollywood. The most striking scene is the first time Jeff has his bandages removed – which is a shot that lasts for a few minutes, focused on Jeff’s face, with his legs blurry in the background. It’s a moment where you feel that pain that he is trying to overcome. Green does a good job here, mainly undercutting the sentiment in the story – unless he there is nothing really he can do, like in the big Red Sox game sequence.

 

The closing scenes of the movie do revert – at least a little – to those inspirational movie clichés – it kind of has to, given how the story turns out. But even then, the film realizes that Bauman’s story is not inspirational for him, and those who lived it day in and day out – for them, it was painful. It’s only inspirational when you don’t have to go through it. There is value in that inspiration to be sure – but there’s value in seeing behind it as well.