MOVIE REVIEW: Stronger

Stronger recites the true story of Jeff Bauman (Jake Gyllenhaal, man I’m starting to love this guy), a survivor of the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing that became famous after a photo of him being rescued from the aftermath went viral. Jeff lost both of his legs in the attack and became the face of the phrase “Boston Strong.” Before all of this, Jeff was a chicken roaster at Costco with a wild sense of humor and a love for the Boston Red Sox. Jeff originally went to the Boston Marathon to cheer on his on-and-off girlfriend Erin. Jeff was at the finish line when the bombs off and even bumped into Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of the bombers. The rest of the movie is a normal recovery story.

Now I’ll admit, I never saw Bauman’s photo until last week. The photo is of him being rescued by a hispanic man in a cowboy hat. Jeff’s recovery story is no different from others. He loses his legs, and faces struggles at home trying to readjust to things such as going to the bathroom, bathing, getting out of bed, etc. He goes to rehab and learns how to walk and swim again. The story itself is quite miraculous because I got a look at a victims story of the 2013 bombing and not have the hellish week be a point of focus in the story. My only problem with this movie was that the beginning seemed to move pretty fast, but the movie eventually slowed down and took its time. For example, we only got five minutes of seeing Jeff’s work life. Then, a couple more when he’s at a bar, runs into Erin, finds out she’s running in the marathon, and tells her he’s going to be there. To top it off, the entire marathon scene seemed quick.

Jake Gyllenhaal is starting to become an adoring actor in my opinion. After seeing him in ‘Nightcrawler,’ ‘October Sky,’ and this, I think he’s becoming one of my favorite actors. I also believe that Gyllenhaal gives an Oscar-worthy performance here. I’m not sure if it’s the best performance of the year, but it’s definitely one of the best! Tatiana Maslany, who plays Erin, gave a satisfying performance but I’m not sure if it was Oscar-worthy like Gyllenhaal’s. All of the actors that played members of Jeff’s family were great, but at times got a little annoying. I think it might’ve been the fact that they seemed like a realistic Boston family. Now, this is the second movie to come out this year about the Boston Marathon Bombing, the first being ‘Patriots Day.’ I won’t compare this movie to ‘Patriots Day,’ but I will say that both are fantastic. In conclusion, go see ‘Stronger’ if and while you can because it’s definitely worth seeing and might make some waves come Oscar season. It follows the actual story really well and hardly any information was left out or false information was added. I think Jeff’s story needs to be heard by everyone, especially those that were impacted by the bombings.