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The third film from Wahl-Berg (that's me mashing Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg together, genius I know) in their fact based drama trilogy. I have no idea if they are making more of these films so I'll call it a trilogy for now, with the other two being Lone Survivor and Deepwater Horizon.
Berg takes a documentary style approach to the filmmaking here, making the film feel like a first hand account of the events that day. Mixing in actual camera footage and the mundane routine of people that day, the film has a 'realness' to it that only gets stretched towards the end when I questioned how much of what I'm seeing actually happened. I remember the bombing, the shootout and the capture, I do not remember the shooting involving multiple pipe bombs being thrown around and the mass destruction ensuing.
For the most part though, the film seems to be faithful to the events, with the exception of Wahlberg who is a fictional character. He represents 'every cop' in Boston on that day, so it's inevitable to see him have a hand in everything that happens; at bombing site, tracking down camera locations to I.D. suspect, arrive at shoot-out, question kidnapped victim, find the terrorist in the boat, etc. He does his Wahlberg thing in his Wahlberg fashion with only one scene asking him to showcase his dramatic chops in which he recounts the events to his wife.
Is it too soon? Is it shameful? I don't have the answers to these questions. I can only sit down and watch a film that is presented to me. I found myself engaged in the manhunt, the round-the-clock detective work to I.D. the suspects and more importantly, the representation of the victims that day. The film ends with interviews from the real people who were there; runners, FBI, police, etc. Seeing people come together in the face of adversity brings a smile to my face. Maybe one day we can live in a world where a film like this doesn't have to exist.
Patriots Day
(Peter Berg)
(Peter Berg)
The third film from Wahl-Berg (that's me mashing Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg together, genius I know) in their fact based drama trilogy. I have no idea if they are making more of these films so I'll call it a trilogy for now, with the other two being Lone Survivor and Deepwater Horizon.
Berg takes a documentary style approach to the filmmaking here, making the film feel like a first hand account of the events that day. Mixing in actual camera footage and the mundane routine of people that day, the film has a 'realness' to it that only gets stretched towards the end when I questioned how much of what I'm seeing actually happened. I remember the bombing, the shootout and the capture, I do not remember the shooting involving multiple pipe bombs being thrown around and the mass destruction ensuing.
For the most part though, the film seems to be faithful to the events, with the exception of Wahlberg who is a fictional character. He represents 'every cop' in Boston on that day, so it's inevitable to see him have a hand in everything that happens; at bombing site, tracking down camera locations to I.D. suspect, arrive at shoot-out, question kidnapped victim, find the terrorist in the boat, etc. He does his Wahlberg thing in his Wahlberg fashion with only one scene asking him to showcase his dramatic chops in which he recounts the events to his wife.
Is it too soon? Is it shameful? I don't have the answers to these questions. I can only sit down and watch a film that is presented to me. I found myself engaged in the manhunt, the round-the-clock detective work to I.D. the suspects and more importantly, the representation of the victims that day. The film ends with interviews from the real people who were there; runners, FBI, police, etc. Seeing people come together in the face of adversity brings a smile to my face. Maybe one day we can live in a world where a film like this doesn't have to exist.