Bombing victim rises up in “Stronger”
★★★5 Rated R. 119 minutes.
The most indelible image from the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing was the photo of Jeff Bauman in a wheelchair. Having lost both legs, he sat clutching his left thigh as a trio of people whisked him toward an ambulance. His story — how he ended up at the race and how he fared afterward — comes to the screen in the raw and moving “Stronger,” based on Bauman’s memoir.
Jake Gyllenhaal, as always, disappears into the lead role, which is no small job. This isn’t a rosy tribute to a determined hero so much as the tale of an imperfect man who is forced to rise to the occasion. We first encounter Jeff at work, where he’s sweet-talking his way out of staying late. He roasts chicken at Costco, and even though he’s created a huge mess in the oven, he insists he has to leave to help the Red Sox win. If he isn’t in his lucky seat at the local bar, who knows what might happen?
So he’s determined — when he wants to be. That includes when it comes to winning back Erin (“Orphan Black’s” Tatiana Maslany), who recently dumped him. When she shows up at Jeff’s favorite bar to raise money for her upcoming marathon, he turns on the charm, as he’s clearly done before. He even promises to meet her at the finish line of her race.
But Jeff is no chivalrous gentleman. When he encounters his ex, he’s a mess; already tipsy, his shirt is covered in stains, and his hard-sell tactics are a touch overbearing. Erin had a reason for dumping him, after all. He never showed up when he said he would.
The one time he finally does — at the marathon — his life is permanently changed. And so is hers.
This raises the first of the movie’s many prickly questions: What does Erin owe her ex-boyfriend? She appears at the hospital after Jeff has gotten both of his legs amputated above the knee. His family is there, too, screaming at one another — their preferred mode of communication. The
family, particularly Jeff’s mother Patty (Miranda Richardson), can come across as cartoonishly rough around the edges. In fact, when Jeff rouses from his medically induced sleep, his cousin delivers the bad news like so: “Your (expletive) legs? They’re gone, bro.” But the kinetic brood serves as a nice counterpoint to the more grounding Erin, who decides to go all in on Jeff’s recuperation.
From there, “Stronger” hits a number of familiar beats charting the road to recovery. Jeff experiences post-traumatic stress, hits rock bottom and inevitably finds a reason to live. What sets the drama apart is how publicly Jeff deals with these tribulations.
His story was “Boston Strong,” or so the city’s residents thought. They needed him to thrive so they could say the terrorists didn’t win. And yet, Jeff never asked to be anyone’s hero. He may not even be capable of being one.
Director David Gordon Green, who’s best known for comedies (“Pineapple Express,” “Your Highness”), does an excellent job of putting the audience into Jeff’s conflicted state of mind. The camera zooms in uncomfortably close to his face as he emerges from the hospital and waves to the crowd waiting for him, offering a tentative thumbsup. Green doesn’t sugarcoat the tough stuff, either. Everyday activities — getting out of bed, using the bathroom, bathing — become harrowing trials.
The movie also re-creates the sickening aftermath of the bomb’s explosion. The special effects, meanwhile, are impressive, leaving viewers to marvel at how Gyllenhaal so believably looked and moved like someone without legs.
“Stronger” isn’t always easy to watch; Jeff makes bad decisions and life gets messy. But it does feel like a realistic depiction of one man’s life.
He might not have been the idealized champion the world tried to make him, but in the end, that just makes his story more compelling.