Patriots Day English Movie
With Patriots Day, director Peter Berg exploits contemporaneous emotions of panic, paranoia and loss to tell a true story from not so long ago and a very American one on that note. The Boston Marathon bombings of 2013, to be exact.
Berg's routine choices of handheld photography and rapid editing create an immediate sense of urgency and unrest. But what makes Patriots Day different from the rest of his films is something less obvious- the electrifying background score from Academy Award winning composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (The Social Network, Gone Girl). The David Fincher regulars collaborate with another director for the first time and how! The music has a big say in the levitated texture of the film. It provides the right balance between dread and hope.
It is worth noting that the fictional character of Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg) guides the viewers through most of the factual proceedings in the film. He is a Boston police Sergeant who is always in the thick of things so we can ride along with him through this cinematic recreation of reality. But that does not deter the contribution of the well-assorted ensemble which includes character actors John Goodman, Kevin Bacon and J K Simmons, among others, in its ranks.
Patriots Day has a tedious setup that lasts for half an hour or so, establishing the backgrounds of the reel versions of some of the actual survivors and victims whom we are expected to feel for later on. This is a rather straightforward approach for a disaster thriller. Also, the themes of patriotism and community are spoon-fed to the audience by the end of the film, which exposes the lack of confidence in the writing department.
It is a given that Patriots Day will be remembered for two things- one, an exhilarating shootout scene in the third act and two, its relevance in modern context. It also cements Berg's place in Hollywood as a serious filmmaker, after such big-budget slogs of the past as Hancock and Battleship.
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