Post by SnoBorderZero on Sept 12, 2017 14:39:53 GMT -5
Fair or not, the success and failure of a film is so crucially positioned with the timing of its release. There are countless examples of films being released questionably against larger movies that swallow it up or coming after movies that have already tackled the subject matter, and the film suffers from audience fatigue. Some movies are flat out never made simply because a film about a similar topic or figure has already been done, such as when Stanley Kubrick’s Napoleon Bonaparte film was canned because a film about the man had just been released and bombed before he got a chance to display his vision. This becomes even more crucial when it comes to current events, or at least recent events, and studios looking to cash in on crafting drama around moments audiences still retain an emotional connection towards. We’ve recently gotten a slew of films surrounding 2013’s Boston Marathon bombings, with the most prolific being Patriots Day from 2016. So it may feel like fatigue is setting in already once Stronger opens in theaters later this month despite it focusing on one of the bombing victims and not the terrorists themselves. That being said, while Stronger doesn’t reinvent the biopic wheel, Jake Gyllenhaal and Tatiana Maslany are sensational in their roles that should garner Oscar attention, and alone merit giving the film a look.
Stronger centers around Jeff Bauman (Gyllenhaal), an underachiever who currently works at a Costco and is more focused on drinking with friends and family and watching the Boston Red Sox than he is on a real career and his estranged girlfriend Erin (Maslany). Eager to win Erin back, Jeff tells her he’ll cheer her on as she runs the Boston Marathon. While doing so, Jeff stands in the direct path of a horrible bombing that results in him losing both of his legs. While he rehabs, the city of Boston labels him a hero after correctly identifying one of the bombers and he’s showered with adorations across the country. But Jeff doesn’t consider himself a hero and struggles with PTSD and his relationship with Erin, all the while his family continues to push him towards reaping the many benefits that come with his newfound status. Jeff now finds himself in a difficult position of keeping his trauma hidden from his bombastic family while attempting to be the face of preservation in a city in need of a face for its healing, and bearing all of this while rediscovering himself.
Stronger is obviously a fantastic story and one that deserves to be told. While all of it unfolds in pretty typical fashion despite venerable director David Gordon Green helming the film, the performances from all around bring Jeff’s chaotic world to life with such authenticity that it’s difficult not to get comfortably nestled with it. Maslany is excellent as Erin, who clearly loves Jeff but knows that he’ll never really change, not even after this traumatic event. She brings a fire to the role and is constantly combatting Jeff and his overbearing mother (Miranda Richardson) that results in some excellent, dramatic exchanges. Gyllenhaal is also fantastic as Jeff Bauman and will certainly be warranting a lot of attention in February. We feel Jeff’s struggle in wanting to return to his life of drinking with his buddies and coasting through life, but can’t and has to be this face of hope and determination that he doesn’t want to be. He and Maslany are easily the film’s greatest strengths, and Green leans on them heavily to great effect. Jeff Bauman and his family are actually hardly painted as likable or sympathetic figures, and are depicted as the white trash Boston family that they are. They never really help Jeff and appear to be more concerned with getting tickets to the Red Sox and meeting Oprah Winfrey, and they push Jeff to make all of these public appearances. To be fair, a lot of that stems from Gyllenhaal playing Jeff with such confidence that it’s only in his private moments with Erin that we see the extent of his trauma. It’s a messy family that’s been made messier due to the bombing, and Jeff is far from being the type of strong willed and intelligent person that’s able to handle his family, Erin, and the demands of being a heroic figure. This is another element of Stronger that really stands out; Jeff isn’t really changed personally by the tragedy and still lets Erin down and still doesn’t embrace turning his life around for the better. He’s attempting to latch onto the only world he knows and wants despite Erin and the audience knowing he can do so much more. This is one of Gyllenhaal’s best performances, and the work he and Maslany do here makes the film more than just another film centered around the Boston Marathon bombings.
7/10
