As a few years seems to be the threshold of “too soon?” no longer being a significant issue, it’s not surprising to see films depicting events that resulted in tragedy begin to emerge in the years following a calamity. Thus, four years after the Boston Marathon bombing, the second movie about the terrorist attack is set for theatrical release. The first trailer for Stronger provides a detailed overview of the film.
Jeff Bauman (Jake Gyllenhaal) has never been the most reliable person, so when he makes a promise to be somewhere most people know to take it with a grain of salt. But there’s one promise everyone wishes he had broken – he swore to be at the finish line to cheer on and try to win back his ex-girlfriend, Erin (Tatiana Maslany), running in the marathon. Unfortunately, the explosion leads to Jeff losing both of his legs. Angry and grieving, he lashes out against his friends and family. Eventually, however, with their support Jeff finds the strength to go to rehab and start the recovery process.
The trailer for this film comes just six months after the release of Mark Wahlberg‘s Patriots Day; though the focus of this movie is an intimate portrait of one of the survivors rather than the horrific event and subsequent manhunt. It’s centred on Jeff and consequently Gyllenhaal’s performance, which looks expectedly impressive. However, the trailer contains so much information it essentially feels like the Cliff’s notes version of the film. For those who still feel the need to see the feature-length picture, it opens September 2017.
