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Written by Sunil Dhokia An inspiring and heartfelt movie, Jake Gyllenhaal delivers a captivating performance in this true-life story of Boston Marathon bombing survivor, Jeff Bauman. Note: This is going to be a spoiler-filled review of the movie, so if you have not seen Stronger, please watch the movie first and then come back to my review. What's The Movie About? Directed by David Gordon Green, Stronger (2017) is a biographical drama that looks at the story of Jeff Bauman (Jake Gyllenhaal) who was supporting his ex-girlfriend, Erin (Tatiana Maslany) for her run at the Boston Marathon, before becoming the victim of a bomb attack, in which he loses his legs. Thereafter, the movie focuses on Jeff's physical and mental recovery from the attack and how this affects his everyday life. Positives The movie works due to its execution in three key areas, in which these biographical-drama stories centred around one individual, makes or breaks the movie: Acting If there ever was a movie vehicle for Jake Gyllenhaal to end his long wait to win an Academy Award, many people including myself would put this performance on their shortlist. The phrases that come to mind when describing Jake Gyllenhaal's performance, once the credits start rolling, are pain, suffering and heroism. Jake Gyllenhaal is great at slowly revealing the various layers of suffering that Jeff Bauman experiences, as the movie progresses. This includes a scene in the second act of the movie, where Jeff breaks down in an elevator, after being asked to wave the Boston Bruins flag at one of their ice hockey games. Here we see the first signs of mental strain from his life-changing injury that not only affects Jeff, but also his friends and family that help and comfort him. Even in Jeff's darkest moments, particularly from the effects of his PTSD and alcoholism, Gyllenhaal always makes us care for Jeff's turmoils. This is because these moments are contrasted with lighter scenes such as family gatherings and days out to sporting events, which allow Gyllenhaal to portray the humorous, kind and caring qualities of his character. Tatiana Maslany as Jeff's on and off girlfriend, Erin, is excellent at showing the sacrifices her character takes to care for Jeff, including breaking off from her own family to be at Jeff's side. Her chemistry with Jake Gyllenhaal is the heart and soul of the movie, as it is an authentic portrayal of how two people in a relationship would react and behave in the aftermath of a horrific event. Jeff's PTSD coupled with his alcoholism creates an appropriate amount of tension between Jeff and Erin, especially in their verbal confrontations. These dark themes and issues allow the emotional sides of Jake Gyllenhaal and Tatiana Maslany's performances to shine through, and therefore allows us to gravitate towards their characters. Miranda Richardson as Jeff's mother, Patty, provides solid support in the movie. Miranda does a convincing job of playing an alcoholic character and her scenes with Jake Gyllenhaal reveal many traits to her character. This includes the countless journalist interviews that she books for Jeff, showing us that these nice gestures act as a defence mechanism to her drinking problems, bringing her brief moments of happiness in the process. Story and Screenplay With only a handful of screenwriting credits to his name, many inexperienced screenwriters coming into a deeply dramatic movie such as this one may have struggled to convey the conflicts that our lead character goes through in the story. However, John Pollono does a pretty good job of ensuring that the story's focal point never goes too far away from Jeff Bauman, from an everyday working man to suffering a range of emotions in the aftermath of losing his legs, before finding the strength to overcome his pain and fears to lead the best life he can under the circumstances. Speaking of emotions, the story does an exceptional job of not glossing over the pain and suffering that Jeff experiences, both physically and mentally. The standout scenes being Jeff's breakdown in the car with Erin towards the end of the movie, after finding out that Erin is pregnant along with the Boston Red Sox stadium scene, where Jeff is talking to various fans, who share their stories to Jeff on some of their hardships and struggles in life. These scenes and moments are wonderfully drawn out, as the audience is allowed to experience Jeff's state of mind, and therefore allows us to empathise and care that much more for his character. Negatives While the movie succeeds on Jake Gyllenhaal's performance along with a well-told, emotional story, two glaring flaws stop the movie from becoming a great one: Pacing and Editing Despite being just short of the two-hour mark, there is a prolonged sequence of scenes during in the first act of the movie that takes place in a hospital, as Jeff is being treated after the loss of his legs. Whilst these scenes are shot skillfully by cinematographer, Sean Bobbitt and acted impeccably by Jake Gyllenhaal, there's a sense that the movie could have focused a little more on the psychological impact of the bombing on Jeff. And while the movie has these moments spread throughout the story, such as Jeff boozing with his mother at their apartment along with his heavy drinking night out with his brothers and uncle, it would have been nice if the movie cut out a few of these hospital scenes in favour of exploring Jeff's PTSD a tad sooner in the movie. Summary
Notwithstanding some issues in the pacing and editing departments, Stronger works, mostly thanks to an Oscar-worthy performance from Jake Gyllenhaal as the movie successfully gets across its message that hope and strength will ultimately triumph the evils that are among us in the world. Verdict On The Movie 7 out of 10 Your Thoughts What are your thoughts on Stronger? Do you agree that Jake Gyllenhaal's performance was Oscar-worthy? Comment below, as I would love to hear your thoughts. All images above and below and their copyright belong to Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions and other respective owners. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.
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About MeMy name is Sunil Dhokia, I'm a movie fanatic and love all things Hollywood. Blog Archives
June 2020
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