Stronger

First Hit:  I was very surprised at how much I like this film, it had heart.

Jake Gyllenhaal is one of my favorite actors. I can tell he puts in a lot of work to each role to make it real for him and the audience. Here as Jeff Bauman, the young man who lost both legs in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, Jake does Jeff proud. He shows Jeff’s humanity and the cycle of up and downs that he had to go through after the event.

Jeff and his family are true blue collar Boston loving people. Jeff works at Costco (a shout out to them for their unending support of Jeff) and, as most Boston people do, loves his Red Sox. He spends a fair amount of his off time in bars with his buddies and family.

The one early scene when he tells his drunk mother, Patty (Miranda Richardson), to F#%& off in the bar is indicative of the family’s love and bickering with each other. His father Big Jeff (Clancy Brown) is a self-proclaimed know it all but doesn’t always know very much. His attempts to control situations was evident in the hospital waiting room.

The family dynamics are perfectly matched with Jeff’s inability to grow up. It is exemplified in his off and on relationship with his girlfriend, Erin Hurley (Tatianna Maslany), whom has just broken up with him again. He loves her and you can tell she loves him but she tires of his childish behavior and for not showing up to events with and for her. To convince her he needs another chance, he tells her he’s going to be at the finish line of the Boston Marathon with a sign he’s going to paint for her. And as we all know, that isn’t where you wanted to be that day.

This film then moves through Jeff’s struggle to deal with the event, losing his legs, and how is he going to be someone in the world. Erin commits to him, but Jeff does his usual flaking out and finally, after she tells him she’s pregnant with his child and he says he cannot be a part of this, she leaves for good.

Avoiding his internal bombing traumatic issues, he finally meets up with and talks with the man who saved him from death by putting tourniquets on above his knees to keep him from bleeding to death. After Carlos (Carlos Sanz) tells him his story, Jeff gets real and starts to take charge of his life.

It is a sweet, heartfelt story. The in-hospital scenes and staff were real. By using these hospital staff and a hospital, it felt solid and true to the story. The visuals of showing Gyllenhaal without legs was extremely well done. The film felt real through many of the scenes.

Gyllenhaal was amazing. When the doctor is taking off the bandages and dressings for the first time in the hospital, I felt his pain all the way to my seat in the theater. Excellent work. Maslany was amazing. Her ability to share so many feelings of love and doubts with her eyes and mouth were spot on. Great work. Richardson had me totally believing she was an alcoholic self-serving mess. She gave a very strong performance. Sanz was sublime. The way he told the story of his two sons to Jeff was ethereal. Brown was perfect as Jeff’s father. Proud, boisterous and overly confident of his ability to process and manage situations. John Pollono wrote a wonderfully expressive screenplay. David Gordon Green caught the magic of the story and brought it to life by guiding his great actors through the feeling vision.

Overall:  Far better film that I’d thought it would be. I love being surprised.

When the Game Stands Tall

First Hit:  Enjoyed this dramatization of a real life story about brotherhood and sport.

Having lived in the bay area for nearly 40 years I’m aware of De La Salle and their Spartan Football team. I was aware of “The Streak” and when it got broken.

However, as the film works hard at doing, the point is not about winning football games, it is about showing and living up to the promise you make to yourself and your teammates. Bob Ladouceur (Jim Caviezel) or “Coach Lad” as the team called him, focuses on using football as a vehicle for people to sign up for commitments to themselves and others.

They have to openly share their commitments with their teammates – this makes the commitment more powerful. This film shares all this in many ways; through the story of brotherhood between T.K. Kelly and Cam Colvin (Stephan James and Ser’Darius Blain - respectively).  

Then there is the story of Coach Lad’s son Danny (Matthew Daddario) attempting to find his relationship with his dad. There is Tayshon Lanear (Jessie T. Usher) learning that it is about the team and not him. Lastly, it is about a son living his dream not his father’s as represented by Chris Ryan (Alexander Ludwig) and his Dad Mickey (Clancy Brown).

There were liberties (like Chris Ryan’s going for a record) in the story and the main point is/was simple:  Show up, stand by your brother and learn to become an honorable man in our society.

Caviezel captured the quiet, focused, driven and caring coach and mentor. What Caviezel did was to make the film about the philosophy and not his performance. Michael Chiklis as Terry Edison (Assistant coach and friend of Ladouceur) was very strong. James and Blain were great as life long friends reaching for their dream. Daddario did a really good job of being the son of a father that really has many sons. Usher was strong as the ego driven talent that was willing to learn. Ludwig was really good as the son who needed to become his own man. Brown overdid the strong overbearing father role but it did make the point. Scott Marshall Smith wrote a really good screenplay bringing out the essence of Ladouceur’s lessons. Thomas Carter directed this film and I liked the use of real footage (beginning and in the credits) to bring this closer to life. I did think Mickey Ryan’s character was overdone and this was a directing issue more than an acting issue.

Overall:  I hope that many team sport coaches see this film and gain some insight that success is more than a “rah rah kill them” attitude.

At Any Price

First Hit:  A very strong film about family and the pressures of living up to one's own and others expectations.

Henry Whipple (Dennis Quaid) is a head of his family farm; his dad Cliff (Red West) is still alive and pressuring Henry to make the family farm work the way he wants it to work.

Henry has two sons Grant (Patrick Stevens) the older college football star and younger son Dean (Zac Efron) who wants to be a NASCAR driver not a farmer. Henry really wants Grant to take over the farm, but Grant graduates and decides to travel the world. The undying hope that Grant will return haunts Henry.

Dean is hard headed and hates farming and his Dad’s placating ways. Henry, screws around with his old high school sweetheart while his loyal wife bears the pain of knowing but loving Henry anyway. She confronts him in one scene and in the next she’s holding his hand making a great public appearance. It is all about what it looks like.

This is the heart and key of the film, is how one is scene in public. Henry could be seething in side but he’s quick with a smile that looks real and is real – to a point.

Dean meets his fear on the race track and becomes lost. When his father covers for him and supports him for one of his stupid actions, he becomes the next generation farmer.

There are other sub-stories in this film which integrate with the whole story, one being that what goes on in Middle America’s farms reflects what goes on in bug corporations as well.

Quaid is perfect in this role as his quick smile and eyes that light up with his smile, are perfect for the man who is use to putting on fronts. Efron is very good as the troubled young man. The only thing that didn’t fit wonderfully for me, was why he lost his ability to face the fear of driving. However, his shift from rebellious young son to the future family farm leader was very good. Kim Dickens as Henry’s wife Irene was excellent. She embodied the faithful loving wife while looking past her husband’s indiscretions. Maika Monroe was wonderful as Dean’s young girlfriend. Clancy Brown as Jim Johnson, Henry’s rival Liberty seed seller, was very good. Chelcie Ross was also very good as Henry’s seed washing accomplice. Ramin Bahrani wrote and directed this very strong film that may show up at next year’s awards ceremonies.

Overall:  This film has more under the hood than shown at first blush. It asks; what would you do for your family?