Hollywood always has those tragic movies in which the main character goes through something horrible and needs to get over it. When I first watched the trailer for “Sronger,” I noticed that this movie would be another one of this kind of movies—and it is— but executed in a better way.
Directed by David Gordon Green, whose name is not too prominent, the film portrays the real story of Jeff Bauman, one of the victims of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Bauman lost his legs in the terrorist attack and has to overcome from that tragedy.
The plot sounds like the typical tragic movie that you already know is going to make you cry. Although it does make you cry, the director brings something new to the movie, adding a different way to tell the story through the characters.
Usually these kind of movies are focused on the main character, in this case Bauman, played by the incredible Jake Gyllenhaal.
However, director Gordon Green decides to make the choice of also telling the story through the other characters, without forgetting Gyllenhaal character.
An important element in this movie is the characters. Every person in Bauman’s life has a reason to be in this movie; his girlfriend, his family, his friends, even his boss.
This movie talks about the problems that not only Bauman, but also the people around him have to solve because of the bombing. This is good for the movie because it is not a common way to portray a story in this genre.
Obviously, the movie is going to make you cry, but not because Bauman does not have legs (well, partly), but because of the problems between his relationships. The movie also wants to tell us that not everything in his life was sadness, it also shows the beautiful times during these moments of struggle, the times with his friends and his girlfriend.
The movie embraces every moment of Bauman’s and his family’s life, even what is going through his mind.
There is no doubt that at this point in his career, Gyllenhaal has shown us what he is capable of doing, and for me, it was impossible to believe that the man I was watching in the screen is the same man from other films such as “Donnie Darko,” “Brokeback Mountain” and “Nightcrawler.”
In every scene, Gyllenhaal takes the character to the edge. As a matter of fact, we even believe that Gyllenhaal was the actual victim of the terrorist attack. Even at the beginning of the movie, the director uses just one scene to introduce Bauman, and that scene is enough, just because Gyllenhaal can show us all what the character means to this movie with every action he does.
As always, Gyllenhaal provides incredible performances, worthy of an Academy Award nomination.
If there is something wrong in this movie is the lack of chemistry in some scenes between Bauman and his girlfriend Erin Hurley, played by Tatiana Maslany. Also, there are some subplots that are not quite wrapped up, such as the relationship between Bauman’s mother and girlfriend, or what happened to his job after the events at the marathon.
Outside of that, “Stronger” is a great movie that touches on our feelings, but also shows us some of the best parts of not giving up on ourselves during hardship. Maybe director David Gordon Green could begin to be important in Hollywood and Gyllenhaal have another opportunity in the Academy Awards.
Grade: 86/100
