Being raised in Massachusetts, I always knew firsthand the steadfast, hard nature of "Massholes" as we're known. But it wasn't until I had moved away from Massachusetts that I truly began to appreciate the indomitable spirit of the city of Boston and the state of Massachusetts as a whole. Watching the coverage of that fateful day: April 15th, 2013, all the feelings that come with being a resident of Massachusetts came flooding back to me even though I was almost a thousand miles away. The sense of community, the loyalty, the patriotism, the general love for your state and your city, all those feelings encompassed my mental state while I watched truly horrible events unfolding on television. Yes, I was disturbed and saddened by this tragedy, but I was also reminded of all these amazing qualities and witnessed them firsthand during and after the events that happened on Boylston street.
I've seen a lot of controversy over this film, and personally I never really understood it. Yes, Patriot's Day ran a very big risk of oozing exploitation and feeling like a big cash grab. But as long as the film presents the events that happened in a factual and informative way, shows the amazing qualities of the city of Boston, and doesn't idolize the perpetrators in any way, I thought Patriots' Day could serve as an informative and enlightening film to those who don't really know what happened.
Fortunately, Patriots' Day does exactly that. This film was extremely well-done and did an excellent job of showing every single positive thing that came from these horrible bombings and ensuing shootouts: The bravery, the unbreakable spirit, the compassion, the true stories of people affected by these acts and how they refused to allow terrorism to ruin their lives and destroy their freedom. Every part of this movie shows the positive that came from these horrible attacks while still presenting the facts about what happened in a truthful, accurate, and captivating way.
One thing I was worried about in this movie was the fact that Mark Wahlberg's character Tommy Saunders isn't an actual person, instead he was created for the film. However, Wahlberg's role serves the story well and encompasses the stories of several Boston Police officers in one character. It would be impossible to show every officer involved in the immediate aftermath of the bombings and subsequent search for Tamerlan and Dzokhar Tsarnaev, and Wahlberg's character serves as a vessel to tell the stories of incredible bravery by the Boston and Watertown PD as a whole.
The acting in the film is incredible. Wahlberg, John Goodman, Kevin Bacon, JK Simmons, and Michelle Monaghan are all fantastic, portraying their characters well and always remaining true to the spirit and personality of the real people they are emulating. The way that the film is interlaced with real footage from Boston works really well, at first I thought it could be a bit off-putting but overall it works really well and continually serves as a reminder that these events actually happened.
Peter Berg's direction is really great, the film flows extremely well and no scene lasts too long or is too short. Cinematography is incredible as it is in all of Berg's films, showing really amazing shots of the city of Boston and Watertown.
The final five minutes of the film perfectly encompass all that Patriots' Day is all about, it contains interviews from real people who were truly affected by or involved in this tragedy plus shots of David Ortiz's famous speech saying "This is our fucking city!". Everyone interviewed explains how an act meant to harm and destroy lives did the complete opposite, it inspired them to be better people, it inspired the city of Boston to love more, to be more compassionate, to truly appreciate life more than they ever had before, and to strive to never let fear ruin lives again.
The Bottom Line: Peter Berg's Patriots' Day is a true cinematic achievement, portraying a horrific act of terrorism with an amount of class, honor and respect that is rarely seen in film. Through stellar acting and direction, Patriots' Day is an almost flawless film.
Rating: 5/5
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