STRONGER (David Gordon Green). 119 minutes. Opens Friday (September 22). See listing. Rating: NNN
A year after the icky jingoism of Peter Berg’s Patriots Day, David Gordon Green delivers a more thoughtful, textured take on the Boston Marathon bombing by focusing on the story of Jeff Bauman, who lost both legs in the blast.
It’s rare to see a redemption narrative where the protagonist is so thoroughly ambivalent about his status as a hero, and Stronger deserves credit for that. Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance is emotionally raw and technically seamless – CGI has come a long way since the days of Forrest Gump’s Lt. Dan – and Tatiana Maslany offers a complex, compelling turn as his on-and-off partner, Erin, who’s dealing with her own guilt because Jeff was only at the marathon to see her cross the finish line.
Green’s a little too in love with Jeff’s extended family, depicted as grasping Bawston nightmares who might even embarrass the blue-collar yahoos of David O. Russell’s The Fighter.
But when he puts the focus on Gyllenhaal and Maslany, Stronger is authentic, intimate and powerful.
