STRONGER (dir. David Gordon Green)

If Peter Berg’s hugely underrated film Patriots Day didn’t’ fulfil your curiosity around the tragedy at the 2013 Boston Marathon, you needn’t worry about waiting for another true life account of the horrors of that fateful day. Enter “Stronger”, this time, at the helm is indie playmaker David Gordon Green, who is in unfamiliar territory in the story of Jeff Bauman (Jake Gyllenhall),a Costco worker who lost both his legs in a bomb left by Islamic terrorists waiting for his girlfriend Erin (Tatiana Maslanny) to finish the race.

From the poster, it might appear to be another flag-waving tear-jecker with more political undertones than character development. Interestingly, Green’s account of Jeff Bauman’s attempts at rebuilding his life are more about mans will to survive and less about the intricacies of the terrorist attack. Branded a hero in his community, he doesn’t want the title, and doesn’t understand why he is paraded around the Boston area. He feels like a victim more than anything and it’s a handled with unfussy direction by Green, who doesn’t shy away from the delicate internal pain our titular character struggles with at being viewed as a beacon of hope.

Many American audiences won’t shy away from another first hand account of the bombing, which only happened 4 years ago but is still fresh in the minds and the hearts of every Bostonian. It’s clear the director has reverence for the community and here’s a film that isn’t afraid to use the harsh reality of life in a Boston community when faced with real tragedy.

Gyllenhaal fans won’t be disappointed too, as his to and fro’s with his family members, played with real grit by a noticeably different Miranda Richardson, are reminiscent of the sisters from David O Russell’s The Fighter, and they add a real spark to the films somewhat difficult subject matter and are played with real vigour by an impressive Gyllenhaal, who’s solemn reaction to adoration are some of the most interesting parts of the film.

Though the performances must be noted, it is apparent that Green wants to show his characters without any pretence. You don’t have to like the characters, and its clear during some heated exchanges (at times it feels like they’re competing to see who can shout the loudest), you want his overbearing family to just let him grow up and find the strength to overcome this awful tragedy without their intrusions - which are shamefully financially driven – and give him the real help that he needs to begin therapy.

At it’s best, Stronger is a nicely written and a well acted portrait of a unlikeable man whose great infortunes changed his life forever. As the plot unravels, he and his on and off girlfriend begin reconciling due to unforeseen circumstances and he must make a decision about what he wants to live for – here’s where the real charm of the film comes true and it’s a delicate portrayal of a man and woman who must set aside their personal differences and make some hard decisions.

It’s by no means a easy film to watch, and there’s some unnecessary and colourful language throughout which only serves to make the characters more unlikeable, and it never really gets going and it’s surprisingly less uplifting than it really needs to be for a film of this magnitude.

In addition, the shoehorned patriotism towards the end of the film feels contrived and I had hoped Green didn’t feel he needed to add these clichéd tropes to appease the conservative American viewers. Here’s a story about a man torn between his unwanted celebrity as the newly appointed American hero, and the downtrodden borderline alcoholic victim he views himself as. It has the right intentions, but falls short of the mark that its superior sister film Patriots Day achieves with relative ease.

Rating; 2/5.