Let me open by saying if you are unaffected by terrorist
attacks like 9/11 or the Boston Marathon bombing then I don’t understand you.
How anyone could not have events like that touch their hearts and souls is
beyond me. No, you may not have known someone involved but the emotional makeup
of a person as an individual should still have left you shocked, hurt and
inspired by the aftermath and what people did. If none of those things are part
of your inner workings then a movie like STRONGER will leave you untouched sad
to say.
That said on to STRONGER. Jeff Bauman (Jake Gyllenhaal) is
an everyday ordinary guy. Working the meat counter at the local Costco in
Boston he leaves work early one day to go to the Boston Marathon where he wants
to support his on again/off again girlfriend Erin (Tatiana Maslany). Jeff is
habitually late or never shows but this day he’s trying to make an effort. The
end result will change his life forever.
Nearing the finish line Erin hears and watches the first blast
of one of two bombs set off that day by terrorists. Unbeknownst to her, Jeff
was standing next to one of those two bombs. His legs blown off bystander
Carlos Arredondo (Carlos Sanz) rushes to his aid. Photographed by an AP
photographer the picture will become famous as will Jeff.
Injured and operated on Bauman loses both legs below the
knee. At one point he regained consciousness and let it be known that he had
seen one of the bombers. His description helped the FBI is sorting through the
evidence they had on hand to locate the bomber. Recognition for this act made
Jeff Bauman a hero in a single day. But was he ready for the fame that
followed? While the bombing is central to the tale of Bauman it is that
question that permeates this film.
Bauman comes from a typical blue collar family. They work
hard, play hard and drink hard, perhaps some too much. His mother Patty
(Miranda Richardson) adores her son and cares for him but the instant celebrity
overtakes her better judgement. The chance for her son to be famous for his
actions turns her head and makes her allow far too many to take advantage of
him. And there is a touch of personal glory there too. By her son being
recognized so is Patty. So any opportunity to place him in front of cameras she
takes.
Erin on the other hand recognizes the toll it is taking on
Jeff. While Jeff is not stupid by any means he was in no way prepared for what
was to come or how it would affect him. The pressure of living up to everyone’s
expectations of him, of being forced to become the face of “Boston strong”
builds upon him. Rather than bask in the glory Jeff retreats into a world of
fear and an inability to cope with the world around him. Erin stays by him
trying to help as best she can but it takes a toll on her as well.
What makes this movie work is a combination of efforts by
the actors involved and the choice to tell the story that most aren’t aware of.
Bauman was thrust into the limelight and while the public saw the face, the
pictures and the interviews they had no concept of what he was going through
emotionally on a personal level. That automatic level of celebrity status was
crushing to him and having failed before in various endeavors he felt he was
failing to live up to their expectations of him now as well. It was less about
stepping up to be a hero and more about being at the right/wrong place at the
right/wrong time. He may have identified the bomber but he suffered a
tremendous loss as well, both legs.
In the midst of that fame Bauman was trying to cope with
that as well. The emotional burden of losing your legs was tremendous. As with
many who serve in the military he was dealing with a form of PTSD without those
around him knowing how to deal with it as well, how to aid him in his journey.
That is the story of Jeff Bauman as portrayed in STRONGER.
Both Gyllenhaal and Maslany to a tremendous job here as Jeff
and Erin. Gyllenhaal doesn’t portray Jeff as the village idiot but does allow
that he may not have been a Harvard grad at the same time. His portrayal of
Jeff as an average guy resonates with the majority of people in this world, a
world where heroes are almost always depicted as the most educated, upper crust
out there. In this case he shows that this depiction is false and that heroes
are around us every day. Maslany offers
a depiction of Erin as a woman who isn’t sure what to do. This is someone she
cares for and has for some time. But will this make him step up to be who she
needs him to be? And can she step up as well, to support him and help him on
his journey?
I’ll be honest, I sat with tears in my eyes during portions
of this. The suffering brought about by terrorist attacks always does this to
me. But knowing about the struggle of those afterwards is also something that
touches you emotionally as well. Finding that someone touched by tragedy can
rise above that, above the expectations others had of them prior and to become
stronger made this a movie that will inspire and touch you at the same time.
Consider this a movie that everyone should see.
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