Rent Stronger (2017)

A dark, dark film - Stronger review by JG

A dark, dark film but not so much from the main thrust of the film plot where a spectator’s legs are blown off in the bombing of the Boston marathon, but more from the family of the bomb victim acted by jake Gyllenhaal.

My partner and I found this family relationship quite disturbing and v unsure just how the truth was actually portrayed. ‘Twas rather like watching families fighting on the Jeremy Kyle show. Hot under the collar stuff. If the facts are honest then the whole lot of them accept for the girlfriend of the bomb victim were in need of urgent physiological attention.

Having said that all credit to the films creators to enshrine a cowardly event like this into the annals of history. And for this reason alone it is a dvd worth watching.

Worth a watch - Stronger review by BE

Predictable movie as we know the story. The superb acting from Jake Gyllenhaal (Jeff) and Tatania Maslany (girlfriend) was better than the movie and just stopped it from becoming maudlin. His mother ((Miranda Richardson), performed like a voiciferous refugee from the Jeremy Kyle show. I am unsure why Jeff became a hero as people that cope with the severance of limbs (and worse) are manifold - probably because he wrote a book about his experience. I was also baffled as to why he did not undertake counselling for PTSD.  

An impassioned performance by Gyllenhaal saves this somewhat middling drama from failure - Stronger review by TB

In 2013, the Boston Marathon bombing took place, irrevocably changing the lives of everyone affected both directly and indirectly. Multiple TV/film/documentaries have been made about it, Patriots Day being one of the most high profile. But there was one picture taken that day which then became a symbol of that horror, of Jeff Bauman with both his legs blown off being rushed to hospital. Following on from that, his accurate description of the bombers, helping to lead law enforcement to kill one of them & capturing the other, elevated Bauman to the status of minor celebrity. This film looks at not only the trauma of that day, but his struggle to accept his disability & deal with the ongoing mental scarring.

Gyllenhaal is excellent as Bauman, however like Southpaw, this is a film which doesn't really deserve him. Without Gyllenhaal, this film would have totally failed, his powerhouse performance really elevating what is a standard clichéd script. There is good work as well from Miranda Richardson as Bauman's alcoholic mother, who is also caught up in the maelstrom which has surrounded her son.

But despite the good intentions, this film for me was never more than 3 stars. I have yet to watch the Netflix documentary on the marathon bombing but for me, despite some issues with its script & structure, still the definitive film about the attacks is Patriots Day.