Patriots Day (2017)

Review

133min

Genre:       Fact-based, Drama, Thriller

Director:    Peter Berg

Cast:         Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Monaghan, John Goodman…more

Writers:     Peter Berg, Matt Cook and Joshua Zetumer

-Synopsis-

Mark Wahlberg stars in a dramatisation of the 2013 terrorist attacks on the Boston marathon which killed three people and injured hundreds, and the subsequent state-wide manhunt to find the culprits, on the day that home-grown Islamic terrorism rocked America and everyday heroes emerged from the ashes.

In his third collaboration with Boston native Wahlberg after ‘Lone Survivor’ and last year’s ‘Deepwater Horizon’, actor-turned-director Peter Berg (Cop Land, Collateral) brings us another well-crafted true story dramatisation of recent events and a tale of courage in extreme circumstances, plus a tribute to the everyday people involved and the city of Boston… with a bit of good ole’ American patriotism thrown in the mix.

Wahlberg stars as Boston PD officer ‘Tommy Saunders’, demoted to glorified traffic warden duties at the world’s oldest annual marathon when his mundane day suddenly becomes a horrific life-changing experience, along with hundreds of other Bostonians and competitors, after two Islamic extremist brothers detonate two homemade explosives amidst the gathered crowds. Now alongside Police Commissioner Davis (John Goodman), FBI Agent DesLauriers (Kevin Bacon) and many other officers and members of the public, ‘Saunders’ is in a race against time to find the terrorists responsible as a huge and complex manhunt ensues across the city and neighbouring towns.

When it comes to Hollywood dramatisations of tragic and scarring recent events, there’s always a fine line to walk between exploitation or profiteering, and paying tribute to the people involved while doing justice to the true story, and inevitably ‘Patriots Day’ has received some criticism, particularly regarding some of the filming done during the recent 2016 Boston marathon. But director Berg just about manages to stay on the right side of the line, with a thoroughly gripping drama that treats the everyday citizens and ‘first responders’ as heroes, without resorting to sanguine hero worship.

With a title which not only pays tribute to the ordinary Americans caught up in the events of that that fateful April day, but also refers to the yearly Massachusetts state holiday on which the marathon is held; ‘Patriots Day’ begins at a leisurely pace by connecting the audience to individual everyday Bostonians and building a collective human story, which makes sure to present a fanciful picture of racial and cultural harmony. Before throwing those people into the hellfires of the atrocities and the subsequent manhunt, where the film becomes tragically but unsurprisingly more compelling and engrossing as the tension mounts, and takes a more graphic turn as the film evolves into a gritty and harrowing human drama.

But despite a title which might suggest a film by American for Americans, or a flag-waving fest dripping in red, white and blue patriotism, ‘Patriots Day’ is a far more sober, nuanced and affecting proposition, focusing on ordinary Americans of every race, creed or colour, and their inner strength in getting through their ordeal and preventing this global scourge of terrorism from destroying their spirit. There’s even a message of solidarity for other cities around the world which have since suffered from terrorism, making the film something of a sombre but uplifting global message of hope amidst tragedy.

Like any other Hollywood drama, ‘Patriots Day’ inevitably takes some ‘artistic license’ when it comes to depicting the people and events in question, but by and large it’s faithful to the real story and the ensemble supporting cast deliver restrained and effective performances in depicting the real life characters they portray, in a film which is not about one hero but a city full of them. Only the lead fictional character of ‘Tommy Saunders’ takes real dramatic license, with Wahlberg delivering his best performance in a while, in a role which is a composite of several officers involved that day, representing the everyman Boston cop while also providing the emotional beating heart of the film.

Berg manages to craft a gripping forensic narrative with tense action elements in a similar style to Kathryn Bigelow’s ‘The Hurt Locker’ and ‘Zero Dark Thirty’, expertly combining his shots with actual newsreel and security cam footage from the day, but blends all of this with a core human drama and relatable civilian experience of tragedy that Paul Greengrass showcased in his own biographical dramatisation of a US terrorist attack in 2006’s ‘United 93’.

This isn’t however a particularly nuanced or moving character drama either, with so many branches to showcase in this tree of extraordinary events there just isn’t the time to flesh out characters or delve into the psyche and motivations of the criminous Tsarnaev brothers. Instead Berg focuses on the events as they played out and as the people of Boston faced them, which nevertheless makes for a sombre but gripping and entertaining drama/thriller, with a message of collective strength and hope in the middle of tragedy and despair.

The Bottom Line…

Star and producer Mark Wahlberg’s third collaboration with writer/director Peter Berg is an ode to his resilient hometown and a fitting tribute to the everyday heroes who emerged from the ashes of its darkest day in living memory. ‘Patriots Day’ is a well-crafted, sobering but gripping and entertaining drama/thriller with a hopeful message that travels well beyond the shores of Boston and the USA.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

United 93 (2006)

Paul Greengrass writes and directs a sobering real-time dramatisation of the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001, with a focus on the United Airlines flight which was hijacked for the plot but crashed into a field in Pennsylvania thanks to interference from passengers and its crew.

Directed by Paul Greengrass and starring David Alan Basche, Olivia Thirlby and Liza Colón-Zayas among others.

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