Stronger 2017

     This film is based on the true story and memoir of Jeff Bauman.  He was waiting on the sidelines at the Boston Marathon of 2013.  His girlfriend Erin Hurley and her two roommates were running in the Marathon.  One of the pressure cooker bombs set off at the Marathon exploded right beside him.  His legs were terribly injured below the knees and they were both amputated above the knee.  Jeff is in total shock and he’s in a lot of pain when the bandages are removed at the hospital.  He goes to live with his mother Patty while he recovers and tries to return to this new normal.   

     Many of the people involved with Jeff play themselves in this film.  The medical professionals are from the hospital where he was treated and five members of the Martino family are from United Prosthetics.  The First responder was Jerry Kissel and the real nurses at Spalding Rehab are shown.  Jeff didn’t have an easy time during his recovery.   He began to self-medicate with alcohol for depression.  His behavior took a toll on his relationship with Erin.  He began to push her away and her relationship with his mother went downhill too.  When Erin learned they were going to have a child, Jeff was terrified in the beginning.  The idea of being a father started to turn him around.  3* (This movie is OK)

119 min, Bio directed by David Gordon Green with Jake Gyllenhaal, Tatiana Maslany, Miranda Richardson, Richard Lane Jr., Nate Richman, Lenny Clarke, Patty O’Neil, Clancy Brown, Kate Fitzgerald, Danny McCarthy, Frankie Shaw.

Note:  Imdb 7 out of 10, 91% critic 82% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3*, Amazon 4.1* out of 5* with 41 reviews, Metacritic 76 out of 100 with 41 critics 7.5* out of 10* with 78 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Chelmsford, Boston, South Weymouth, Roxbury, Braintree, Easton, Massachusetts.  Both Jeff Bauman and Jake Gyllenhaal threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Fenway Park for the Marathon Monday game of April 18, 2016.  Jeff’s former supervisor at Costco, Kevin, is an extra in more than one scene.  Gyllenhaal wore brown contact lenses to have the same eye color as Jeff.  His new prosthetic legs were donated and they were $100,000 each with microprocessors installed to follow his gait.  Canadian actress Tatiana Maslany in the role of Erin Hurley also acted as all the clones in the TV series Orphan Black.