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You could watch a dozen seasons of “Grey’s Anatomy” and never see a full tracheal intubation.
Most movies and television shows that deal with a medical crisis don’t linger on the removal of breathing tubes, or the first shower after a traumatic injury, or the first bar fight that breaks out around a man in a wheelchair.
But “Stronger” runs screaming in pain from the kind of simplistic inspirational storytelling that the subject matter usually yields. It’s about sacrifice, hurtful choices and what you can’t recover during your recovery. It is telling that the flag-waving moment in a big sports arena, which would be a life-affirming high point in most interpretations of the drama, is arguably the low point in this challenging but ultimately satisfying film.
The subject is Jeff Bauman, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, a young working-class man who lost his legs in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing — and became an instant celebrity because of a striking photo of him during his extrication from the chaos. His story was told before he had a chance to reconcile the events for himself. Bauman and his rescuer were symbols of “Boston Strong,” thrust by the media, local sporting teams and his own family into a role they didn’t request.
Bauman’s overprotective mother and guilt-ridden girlfriend (Miranda Richardson and Tatiana Maslany, respectively) form a dysfunctional grief triangle, struggling with a kind young man who could barely care for himself when he was well, and can’t cope with the hard work and frustrations that will be a constant for the rest of his life.
The story is linear — except for one important flashback — and for the most part doesn’t fetishize the gory injuries that shocked people on social media after the 2013 attack. Instead, it revels in flipping our expectations, eventually to the point of predictability. The horror, the film suggests, wasn’t in that photo of Bauman’s blasted, burnt and exposed limbs that many of us viewed, but in the months and years of often aimless struggle that followed.
“Stronger” has some of the inconsistencies that mark earlier work of director David Gordon Green (“Our Brand Is Crisis,” “Joe”). Individual scenes have the right tone, but the entire movie feels unbalanced. The third act in particular chooses some of the formulaic turns that the first two parts seem to be actively renouncing.
But “Stronger” always feels right in the moment, solidified by an outstanding central performance by Gyllenhaal, and some wonderful ensemble work, especially the actors just below the top billing.
Gyllenhaal highlights Bauman’s immaturity and inability to handle his situation, while radiating a central kindness that makes him easy to root for nonetheless. Gyllenhaal’s Bauman doesn’t seem exceptionally brave, but he is good, and for that reason people want to help him. The lesson here: Sometimes survival comes from the individual, and sometimes it comes from the pack.
Richardson and Maslany are solid as well, but the real contribution comes in the few scenes each from the dozen or so actors who portray Bauman’s friends and extended family.
The excellent screenplay by John Pollono makes Gyllenhaal a co-lead with the citizens of Boston, who are blunt and oblivious but also loyal and funny. Clancy Brown is wonderful as Bauman’s father, and Jimmy LeBlanc and Lenny Clarke stand out in a pack of actors who are annoyingly oblivious as individuals but collectively endearing.
“So I gotta tell you,” Bauman’s friend Big D (Nate Richmond) blurts out seriously, the first voice Bauman hears after awakening from the blast. “There was an explosion and your legs are f— gone, bro.”
Within moments of recognition of the situation, Bauman himself is making a self-deprecating joke comparing himself to legless Lieutenant Dan from “Forrest Gump.” But it’s OK, because as unhealthily as they communicate, you know these people will be there for each other.
By the end, Boston Strong doesn’t seem to be about standing up to terrorists. It’s about continuing to stand up for one another, even when a loved one has run low on chances.