This is the Pure Movies review of Stronger, directed by David Gordon Green and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Tatiana Maslany, Miranda Richardson, Richard Lane Jr. and Nate Richman. It’s very easy to look upon film adaptations of real-life atrocities with a healthy degree of cynicism. ‘How can you even think about converting tragedy into commercial product?’ you might think, and sometimes this is a perfectly valid question. More often than not, though, such works can shed an illuminating light on the national psyche, whether it’s a nuanced rumination on the complexity of understanding random acts of violence (Elephant), a visceral dramatisation of one of the defining moments in modern history (United 93) or a simple act of providing a human face to an all-too-common headline (Fruitvale Station). Stronger, David Gordon Green’s contribution to the dialogue, takes a story that could easily become mired in cloying gung-ho American flag-waving and,...
- 10/9/2017
- by Joshua Glenn
- Pure Movies
For the last few years, it has almost felt like a waiting game with Jake Gyllenhaal and the Academy. He has an Oscar nomination, but has been snubbed a few times since then, most notably for Nightcrawler. On Friday, Gyllenhaal turns in one of his very best and most awards friendly performances yet with Stronger, a biopic that manages to subvert the expectations of the genre. Films too often become standard issue when dealing with this sort of subject, but that’s not the case here. It’s damn near perfect and, at least in this writer’s humble opinion, 2017’s best movie to date. It’s a triumph. The movie is a biopic of Jeff Bauman (Gyllenhaal), one of the many affected by the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. He’s a lovable schlub, someone who his on again off again girlfriend Erin Hurley (Tatiana Maslany) adores but can’t rely on.
- 9/21/2017
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
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