Sunday, September 10, 2017

Patriots Day (2016)

Mark Wahlberg continues his collaboration with Peter Berg, following Lone Survivor and Deepwater Horizon. Does that make a trilogy? They obviously feature a different cast of characters, but Wahlberg consistently plays the American hero. The film perhaps focuses on our fictional hero a little too much. I understand that he is the protagonist but you get the sense that the film wants to be about people. The beginning and end feature a cast of characters that are largely missing from the middle of the film, absent from the action. But they should be the focus, a portrait of a strong and resilient city. The great drama of the film is of course the manhunt that captivates the city. But there is a lot of buildup to get to that point. The omniscient point of view perhaps reduces the thrill because we always know what is happening on the other side.  The film stirs up emotion because it's about a close-knit community. It's Boston. The accents won't let you forget it. 

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