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Approximately halfway through David Gordon Green’s “Stronger,” there’s a memorable scene in which Jeff Bauman, who lost both of his legs just above the knees in the Boston Marathon bombing, attempts to stand for the first time on new prosthetics. The pain in his face is palpable, and he murmurs something about pins and needles, but everyone around him is just clapping and cheering, with his mother exclaiming, “You look awesome!” He isn’t in a great mood right now. While “Stronger” goes above and beyond your typical inspirational drama, it does so primarily because of two outstanding performances, but it also does so because it recognizes that trauma is not inspirational to those who are experiencing it. Throughout much of “Stronger,” Jeff will be told that he is a hero and will be reminded to remain “Boston Strong,” but he will question what exactly that means time and time again. Eventually, Green’s film subverts its own message about the commodification of tragedy in order to become something even more remarkable: a statement on the importance of images of survival in our society. Occasionally, some of it is a little too broad, and I wish the film had dug a little deeper at times, but this is one of those rare inspirational films that earns the right to be called such.
Even though the screenwriter John Pollono’s adaptation of Bauman’s memoir spends very little time on set-up, Green and his cast make the most of the limited time they have. Jake Gyllenhaal portrays Jeff, a Costco employee who must escape from a sticky situation in order to be in his lucky chair to watch the Red Sox play the Boston Red Sox. They were unable to win the last two games because he was absent. As Jeff’s family gathers at the bar, we meet Miranda Richardson as Jeff’s mother and Clancy Brown as Jeff’s father, as well as famous Boston comic Lenny Clarke, who plays another relative, and others who seem straight out of Boston central casting—they support the Red Sox, drink before noon, and yell over each other, among other things. Jeff’s friends and family are sometimes depicted in overly broad strokes, but they are all captured with affection.
Jeff’s on-again, off-again girlfriend Erin (Tatiana Maslany), who just happens to be running in the Boston Marathon the following day, is also introduced to the audience. Jeff makes a sign to greet her at the finish line in what appears to be an attempt to win her back a little bit of her affection. It occurs while he is at ground zero, and he suffers amputations of both of his lower legs below the knee. As soon as he reports that he has seen one of the bombers, he becomes even more of a news story. Not only is he a survivor, but he’s also going to contribute to the defeat of the adversary. Jeff becomes a symbol for a country in desperate need of a hero. Jeff, with Erin by his side, must learn how to survive as more than just a symbol in order to continue to exist.
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Green and Pollono are at their best in this film when they’re delving into the specifics of Jeff’s predicament in ways that gauzy melodramas typically don’t bother to do. There’s a memorable scene in which Jeff’s dressings are removed for the first time; the scene is out of focus in the background, and the camera remains focused on Jeff’s face in the foreground. He is unable to see, and as a result, we are unable to see them clearly. He prefers to look into Erin’s eyes instead. He’s terrified and in pain, and she’s the only one who can save him. In addition, tactile scenes, such as the process of making casts for his legs or how difficult it is to get into the bathtub, lend gravity and realism to what could have been a more manipulative experience.
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Of course, what really holds “Stronger” together is the work of Gyllenhaal and Maslany, who both give performances that are at the peak of their already-notable careers, if not at the pinnacle of them. “Stronger” works because of their ability to stay completely in the moment, despite the fact that they are both extremely committed physically. We completely believe their story and never get the impression that they’re just tugging at our heartstrings to get a response or that they’re playing melodrama instead of telling the truth. So many performances in inspirational dramas are focused on the external mountain that the hero or heroine must climb, but Gyllenhaal and Maslany understand that it is the internal drama that will allow these characters to resonate with the audience.
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I didn’t believe some of the beats, and some of the inspirational scenes would have been more powerful if they had been just a little bit shorter. There are also some “Boston atmosphere” moments that I couldn’t quite believe were happening in Boston (like the cop who asks for a photo after pulling them over). When “Stronger” appears to be on its way to becoming just another piece of Hollywood inspiration, something happens to bring it back to earth, most often through the wise choices made by Gyllenhaal and Maslany (as well as by Green’s direction of the actors). “Stronger” has the appearance of being manipulative at times—it would be difficult to tell this story without coming across as manipulative—but I’d be lying if I said the manipulation didn’t work.
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Jeff Bauman wondered aloud why he was regarded as strong simply because he was in a building that had been bombed. He didn’t consider himself a hero and preferred to stay out of the limelight. However, the film about him becomes a striking testament to the power of symbols of hope and the human need for them, and it has the potential to be as inspirational to someone as Bauman’s true story was to him. There is recognition of Jeff’s distress as he stood for the first time, but there is also recognition that for those who needed to believe in him, the moment was “awesome.”
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It was originally submitted on September 9th, 2017 from the Toronto International Film Festival, and has since been updated.
For more personality quizzes check this: The Book Of Henry Quiz.
