‘Marathon’ examines a terrorist tragedy
The HBO documentary “Marathon: The Patriots Day Bombing” looks beyond simply recounting the events of terrorist attack at the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.
The event receives immense coverage every year in Massachusetts and draws thousands of runners and supporters as well as fans. So there was plenty of film, both professional and amateur, that caught the attack and the bloody chaos that ensued.
Also captured was the quick action of first responders and selfless acts of ordinary citizens to try to save the lives of the injured. What most of us never saw, though, was how the victims dealt with their life-changing wounds.
One of them was Celeste Corcoran who — with her husband, Kevin, daughter Sydney, and son Tyler — was at the finish line to watch Celeste’s sister finish the race.
Celeste lost both legs. Sydney’s femoral artery severed. Her life was saved when a military veteran, who had seen battle, inserted his hand into the wound and squeezed off the artery. Boston Globe photographer John Tlumacki took a picture of the moment that was reprinted in newspapers around the world.
Tlumacki gained fame for the photo, but wanted to know what happened to the victims he photographed. The HBO film, which was produced in association with the Boston Globe, follows the
Corcoran family as Celeste struggles to learn to walk with artificial legs while
Sydney becomes depressed and develops an eating disorder. Her father begins to drink.
The film from Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg also follows newlyweds Jessica Kensky and
Patrick Downes. They were avid runners themselves. He lost a leg. She lost a leg, too, and her other is maimed. As time goes on, Jessica is confronted with the specter of losing her second leg. Though not in
the military, they both end up at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for special treatment. There, the two are accepted by the wounded veterans, who see them as casualties of war, too.
Meanwhile, the film dips into the manhunt for terrorists brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev that gripped the nation but doesn’t spend much time on the shootout that killed Tamerlan and the capture of Dzhokhar. Presumably, “Patriots Day,” the upcoming Mark Wahlberg movie about the bombings, will dig into that.
The HBO documentary also touches on the question of whether to execute Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was found guilty on multiple counts.
While “Marathon” doesn’t delve into complicities of geopolitics of the events, ultimately, it is affecting as a story of perseverance. You can’t help but admire the strength of those who lost limbs and had their lives irreversibly altered.
But we are also reminded about those who didn’t survive, and it’s to them that the film is dedicated.
A scene from the HBO documentary “Marathon: The Patriots Day Bombing.”
A scene from the HBO documentary “Marathon: The Patriots Day Bombing.”
