Stronger (2017)

Jake Gyllenhaal is a force to be reckoned with in this film, but don't forgot about Tatiana Maslany as she is also excellent.
Jeff Bauman (Gyllenhaal) is sort of a guy who hasn't completely grown up yet. He works at Costco and drinks too much beer and watches too many Boston sports games. Erin (Maslany) isn't his girlfriend. Sure, he likes her a lot and she likes him, but he can't commit, doesn't show up and she deserves better. She really is too good for him.
But she is running in the marathon and he wants to support her. So he does. But it is the Boston Marathon in 2013, and Jeff is badly injured as the bomb explodes.
He survives but has both of his legs amputated, just above his knee. The film chronicles his painful road to recovery and how he and Erin slowly rebuilt their relationship and how he lets it erode again.
The film is moving as Jeff is an oddball of a character. In some ways, he is very strong and stubborn, not wanting all the attention, and though he wants to get better and walk again, he is also lazy and drinks way too much. And Erin calls him out on all his crap, as someone needs to.
Jeff's family, including his alcoholic mother, Patty (Miranda Richardson) and his estranged father, Big Jeff (Clancy Brown) are supportive and don't even blink at his problems nor do they treat him differently but they also raise him up as a hero and he knows that he can't live up to it. When he is helped at the scene by another hero, Carlos (Carlos Arredondo), he doesn't want people to help him. That scene is one of the most memorable, with the carnage shocking and devastating. Another great scene is when Jeff finally meets Carlos. Carlos was near the finish line to pass out American flags. His life has been absolutely horrible. His oldest son was killed in the Iraq war and then his younger son committed suicide, which must be beyond heart-wrenching. I hope the two remain friends.
Now, there is tension between Jeff's mother and Erin, with good reason. Erin understands that Jeff doesn't want the attention while his mother is very upset that Oprah has agreed to come and interview him. He does eventually come to terms with his fame and embraces it, but it takes some time.
I'm glad that Jeff finally does  grow up by the end of the film and takes his rehab seriously, considering Erin is pregnant. Now, I knew that was going to happen. When they first have sex after the bombing, I kept thinking to myself, I hope he uses a condom. And then he is upset that she wasn't more careful. Fortunately, he realizes that he is an idiot and does admit that he loves at the very end of the film.
Now, I don't really have any major problems with the film, as it re-creates the chaos that surrounded the horrific event well and does so brilliantly and each character is unique and the acting seems effortless. Maslany and Gyllenhaal are brilliant, doing the flawed heroes justice; the pathos they bring is key to this film's success. Jeff knows that he is flawed and Erin loves him nevertheless, but she also wants him to be the best version of himself, which he hopefully has achieved by the end of the film, knowing that he can do and bring good to others. It may not been an easy watch but it is worth it nevertheless. Grade: A-