Stronger - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Stronger

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie

Tragedies seem to make some of the best dramas I’ve noticed, especially when they hit close to home for such a large section of the native populace. Things like 9/11, Vegas, The Boston Bombing, and countless other horrors and atrocities seem to act as a binding agent for many people. Especially those DIRECTLY effected by the plot. I remember sitting in my apartment in 2013 watching as the news came on and staring in horror at what I was witnessing. Back then it was a blow by blow telling of what had happened as the Boston Marathon was being televised live, and there was no break in the coverage (at least for down here). I sat transfixed to the screen for the first 24-48 hours and watched as they were able to get one of the brothers, and kept close tabs on the hunt for the second one over the coming days. I reviewed Patriot Day earlier in 2017, and it is a MUCH different take on the subject than Stronger is. Patriot Day was your typical Peter Berg disaster film, with the good guy making a harrowing search for the killer, and ultimately ending up on top. You know, the standard “uplifting drama” where a tragedy is topped by the unending resolve and heroism of a few brave men (and women). Something we love to watch because it makes us feel better (and there’s NOTHING wrong with that at all. I love those films). Stronger looks at the other side of the equation, following real life bystander Jeff Bauman (Jake Gyllenhaal) who ends up losing his life as he gets caught in the bomb’s crossfire and the resulting chaos that becomes his life after the unfortunate event.

Jeff Bauman is your average, every day, sort of guy. He works at Costco in meat department during the day, and openly pines over his on again/off again relationship with “kinda” girlfriend Erin Hurley (Tatiana Maslany). Jeff and Erin have been on the breaks for a while due to Jeff being that introverted shut in who just won’t “be there” for here. However, for once in his life, Jeff decides to actually be there for her and support her run in the Boston Marathon. However, this is where fate takes over and Jeff is caught in the epicenter of the pressure cooker bomber’s path, and he ends up losing both of his legs as a result. When he wakes up, the poor guy is in the hospital and surrounded by his family members, and even Erin.

Using Erin as a sort of guiding point, Jeff slowly tries to put his life back together, but it’s not as easy as the “uplifting” movies make it seem. The film has a sort of “blue collar” tone to it, as Jeff has to not only come to the grips that his life has been permanently altered, but deal with his alcoholic mom, a separated father, and his own personal hangups that are exasperated due to him being in this conditions. Soon even Erin is ready to give up, as the worst side of Jeff bubbles to the surface and his own introverted elements of self pity and selfishness come to light. Still, while Stronger is a much bleaker take on a survivor on the incident than Patriot’s Day, it still is a message of hope. A message which is realized when Jeff is confronted with people who have been affected by the tragedy too, and is able to come to grips with all of the pain and self loathing he has been inundating himself with.

I find it fascinating that neither Patriot’s Day nor Stronger really were big box office hits, despite coming from a recent tragedy and directed by competent directors. I’m not sure whether it was just the lack of wall to wall excitement (Patriot’s Day WAS one of the less intense Peter Berg films), or whether it had something else in the mix, but neither movie really set the box offices on fire. Either way, I found Stronger to be the most emotionally powerful film, but it also was just a little too cut and dry too. The film took the traditional “guy has to come to grips with his pain and suffering to rise above it all” and just ran with it. Thus it was just a bit predictable at times and never really COMPLETELY hooked me.

While the plot was fairly derivative, the performances are what really make the movie. Jake Gyllenhaal has become one of my recent obsessions, acting wise, with him pumping out incredible performance after incredible performance. He completely absorbs himself into the role of Jeff, and becomes almost unrecognizable to the average viewer (something Gyllenhaal is adept at), and Tatiana is not far behind him, playing the tortured and beleaguered girlfriend quite well. The rest of the cast aren’t nearly AS important, but we get some good performances by veterans such as Clancy Brown, Miranda Richardson, and Richard Lane Jr.





Rating:

Rated R for language throughout, some graphic injury images, and brief sexuality/nudity




Video:

Stronger is a good looking Lionsgate encode that seems to be sourced from Arri Alexa cameras and MOST LIKELY (IMDB and other internet sources are silent on the issue) finished with a 2K master considering how the film looks. The inspirational film looks a bit soft to my eyes, but its never really detrimental, but rather a by product of the digital shoot that hovers just around the edges of the viewing arena. Saturation levels are quite high, with overly bright outdoor sequences, and indoor shots that seem a bit on the bright side as well. Details are more than fine, with Jake’s facial features showing up quite nicely and background images being in focus. I wouldn’t say that this is the “best of the best”, but it is a very pleasant looking Lionsgate encode that doesn’t seem to show any major signs of artifacting or digital manipulation. Just a straight forward and shiny digital shoot.






Audio:

Even though we’re dealing with the Boston Bombing, the movie’s audio mix is NOT a powerhouse. Even the horrifying boom that starts the whole scenario is rather light in the loafers and the mix maintains a very standard dialog centric experience that is indicative of the style of film we’re seeing. Stronger features a solid 5.1 DTS-HD MA track that puts most of the emphasis in the dialog at the front of the room, but uses the surrounds enough to fill in background noise at the bombing, or the hustle and bustle of people in the hospital as they’re waiting for Jeff to wake up and regain consciousness. LFE is mild, but still there in the uplifting score, and adds a little bit of low end for a more more intense scenes, such as Jeff falling off of his wheelchair, or the roar of the crowd as Erin charges forward in her marathon.






Extras:

• "Faith, Hope & Love: Becoming Stronger" Featurette
• Optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles

Final Score: ​

Patriot’s Day was the intense thriller about the Boston Bombing, while Stronger is the more intimate and personal tale about a city recovering from a horrible tragedy. I will admit that I have a personal stake in this game, as I was watching the events live when it happened in my old apartment. Performances are excellent across the board, but the film itself seems to be a bit “small” in its scope, which limits the intensity and the downright depressing nature of Jeff and his family life is a bit antithetical to the standard “uplifting power drama” that Patriot’s Day gave us. Stronger is sweet, terrifying, heartbreaking and completely human, and gives us a nice little look into the day to day struggle of recovering from a life altering event like this. Audio and video are spot on for a solid Blu-ray experience, and the movie definitely makes for a good watch for those of you who enjoy a good heath rending drama.





Technical Specifications:

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Tatiana Maslany, Miranda Richardson
Directed by: David Gordon Green
Written by: John Pollono (Screenplay) Jeff Bauman (Novel)
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Studio: Lionsgate
Rated: R
Runtime: 119 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: December 26th, 2017

Image

• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Good Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I will check this one out.