Stronger Review

Stronger is a 2017 biopic directed by David Gordon Green, most well-known for Pineapple Express. Of course, Stronger is about as far from a comedy you can get - it's based on the novel written by Jeff Bauman himself, and this film tells his story. He was a victim of the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing. Jake Gyllenhaal and Tatiana Maslany (of Orphan Black fame) star, and the screenplay was written by John Pollono.

There is just so much to like about this film, the most obvious thing being Jake Gyllenhaal's acting. He's one of the most consistently good actors working today, and definitely one of the most versatile. Again, he's absolutely brilliant here - his performance is passionate, understated and realistic, and he brought so much to the role that could have been a bit perfunctory in the wrong hands. Tatiana Maslany is also absolutely fantastic as Bauman's on-again off-again girlfriend. These are some of the two of the most moving performances of the year.

Of course, actors are nothing without a good scipt, and Pollono's script is brilliant. Occasionally, it does err a little on the sentimental side, but that happens only once or twice in a two hour film, which for something like this is pretty good going. The dialogue in the scenes between Bauman and Erin is excellent, and that's where the script really shines. There were moments in the film in which I was moved to tears -  it happened at least three times, probably more.

Stronger has far more depth than most biopics of this kind. Of course, it's about Bauman struggling with his disability, but it's also about his relationship with the press. Of course, everyone else sees him as an American hero (especially since he helped identify one of the bombers), and he himself doesn't really understand why. He'd much rather keep himself to himself and focus on getting better, but the film explores how his notoriety gets in the way of that. Because of that, there's a lot of intriguing drama, and that material is far more thought-provoking than the stuff you'd find in most biopics.

Stronger is an excellent biopic, with fantastic performances from Gyllenhaal and Maslany. It's an incredibly emotional and intelligent film, and if you're interested in Bauman's story, or the novel he wrote, this will be right up your alley.

Score: A