When it comes to director/actor team-ups, the combination of Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg is becoming a really great one.
If you’ve not yet seen the excellent Lone Survivor (2013) or Deepwater Horizon (2016), you should really put them on your to-do list.
Patriots Day, the story of the 2013 Boston Marathon terrorist attack, sees Berg and Wahlberg again focus on emotional subject matter – and thankfully it delivers similarly impressive results.
Patriots Day not only shows us what happened on that fateful day, but also focuses on the hunt for the two terrorists who carried out the atrocities.
It also has a more observational feel, as we’re shown how the various authorities handled the most delicate of situations – ensuring that the city of Boston itself is one of the film’s most impressive aspects.
Wahlberg takes the lead as Sergeant Tommy Saunders, who is only working the marathon due to a suspension. The odd thing about this choice is that Saunders is – in a tale of so many inspirational people – an entirely fictional character.
That choice does allow him to be on the frontline in all of the film’s major sequences, though, so you can see the reasoning behind it.
There is an all-star cast playing real-life law enforcement and government officials, though.
They include Boston police commissioner Ed Davis (John Goodman), FBI agent Richard DesLauriers (Kevin Bacon), Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick (Michael Beach), Boston Mayor Tom Menino (Vincent Curatola) and Watertown PD Sergeant Jeff Pugliese (JK Simmons).
The other real people portrayed include MIT cop Sean Collier (Jake Picking), engineering student Dun Meng (Jimmy O Yang) and husband and wife pair Patrick Downes (Christopher O’Shea) and Jessica Kensky (Rachel Brosnahan).
Patriots Day also follows the movements of the sibling killers behind the attack.
Tamerlan (Themo Melikidze) and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (Alex Wolff), alongside the latter’s wife Katherine (Melissa Benoist), produce some chilling scenes, without the story ever feeling like a run-of-the-mill terrorism fare.
Despite its title, Patriots Day really doesn’t veer off into a stereotypical American fanfare either. The story is balanced and is both gripping and emotional to watch.
You’ll put yourself in the shoes of the people that are most affected by the bombing and feel their pain.
That, in turn, makes the Tsarnaev brothers very compelling villains, with their lack of compassion for life truly depressing.
As you’d expect with such a stellar cast, the performances are strong across the board.
Wahlberg is once again a tour de force as the lead, while Bacon’s DesLauriers and Goodman’s Davis are brilliant as two men wanting to get the same result in differing ways.
I can’t recommend Patriots Day to you enough. It’s a great account of a tragic terrorist attack that will both educate and entertain you – and that’s a fine combination in my book.
Voice Verdict: 9/10 (reviewed at Boston’s West End Cinema)
+ Emotional and compelling
+ Stellar performances
+ A true story done right despite fictional character
SHOWTIMES
Boston’s West End Cinema (Fri, Mar 3 to Thurs, Mar 9)
**LOGAN (15)
11.20am (Sat/Sun/Weds), 2.20pm (Fri/Sat/Sun/Weds), 5.20pm (daily), 8.25pm (daily)
**FIST FIGHT (15)
3.15pm (Tues), 3.30pm (Not Sat/Sun/Tues), 8.45pm (daily)
**KONG: SKULL ISLAND (12A)
2D – 8.20pm (Thurs)
3D – 5.40pm (Thurs)
**VICEROYS HOUSE (12A)
10.30am (Sat), 1pm (Sat/Sun/Weds), 3.30pm (daily), 6pm (daily), 8.30pm (daily)
PATRIOTS DAY (15)
5.30pm (not Tues/Thurs)
A CURE FOR WELLNESS (18)
3pm (not Sat/Sun/Weds), 3.30pm (Thurs), 5.30pm (Sat)
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 (15)
8.30pm (Fri-Sun)
FIFTY SHADES DARKER (18)
6.15pm (daily), 8.40pm (not Thurs)
LEGO BATMAN MOVIE (U)
2D –2.50pm (Sat/Sun), 4pm (daily)
3D – 10am (Sat/Sun), 12.25pm (Sat/Sun)
SING 2D (U)
10am (Sat/Sun), 12.30pm (Sat/Sun), 3pm (Sat)
WOLYN (15)
5.30pm (not Sat/Thurs)
KIDS’ CLUB
Sat/Sun 10.15am – Ballerina (U)
SILVER SCREEN
Wed 11.30am – John Wick: Chapter 2 (15)
SUBTITLED SHOWING
Tues 5.15pm – Patriots Day (15)
**FREE LIST SUSPENDED
