Stronger (2017)

Directed by David Gordon Green. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Tatiana Maslany, Miranda Richardson, Clancy Brown, Lenny Clarke, Carlos Sanz, Richard Lane Jr., Frankie Shaw, Nate Richman, Jimmy LeBlanc. [R]

Inspirational (mostly) true story of Jeff Bauman (Gyllenhaal), one of the victims of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, and his messy physical, emotional and psychological recovery after becoming a double amputee. Gyllenhaal continues tackling intense, complicated roles (à la Nightcrawler, Southpaw, et al) and delivering the goods, while Maslany, as Bauman’s on-again-off-again ex, Erin, invests her character with far more inner turmoil and nuance than is usually afforded the “victim’s crutch” role; their struggle and commitment elevates the emotionally manipulative fodder that’s all but required in a story like this. Takes the usual liberties with reality, but rather than suffering for staging, rearranging and inventing details for maximum dramatic impact, the film’s shortcomings lie in poor choices made while buttressing the central duo and their relationship—Gyllenhaal’s family hamming it up with the Bostonian clichés, an embarrassing punchline to a redundant drunk-driving episode, etc. Resolutions at the end addressing Bauman’s guilt and frustrations as well as his tangled relationship with Erin are a bit too pat, but that comes with the territory; this one’s worth watching just for the two leads and the uncomfortably authentic details in recovering from adversity like this.

74/100