| Patriots Day | |
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.png) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Peter Berg |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by |
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| Based on | Boston Strong byCasey Sherman Dave Wedge |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Tobias A. Schliessler |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Lionsgate[1] |
Release dates |
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Running time | 133 minutes[2] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $40–45 million[3][4] |
| Box office | $52.2 million[4] |
Patriots Day is a 2016 Americanactionthriller film[5] based on theBoston Marathon bombings in 2013 and the subsequent terrorist manhunt. Directed byPeter Berg and written by Berg, Matt Cook, and Joshua Zetumer, the film is based on the bookBoston Strong byCasey Sherman andDave Wedge. It starsMark Wahlberg,Kevin Bacon,John Goodman,J. K. Simmons, andMichelle Monaghan. It marks the third collaboration between Berg and Wahlberg, followingLone Survivor andDeepwater Horizon. The title refers toPatriots' Day, theMassachusetts state holiday on which theBoston Marathon is held.
Principal photography began on March 29, 2016, inNew York City, and also filmed inBoston,Los Angeles,New Orleans, andPhiladelphia. The film premiered on November 17, 2016, at theAFI Fest. Distributed byCBS Films viaLionsgate,[1] It was released in Boston, New York and Los Angeles on December 21, 2016, followed by anationwide expansion on January 13, 2017. It received positive reviews for Berg's direction and the performances of its cast,[6] and grossed $52 million against a $45 million budget. The film was chosen by theNational Board of Review as one of the top ten films of 2016.[7]
On April 14, 2013,Boston Police Department Sergeant Tommy Saunders captures a suspect and fails to convince CommissionerEd Davis to let him off from a punishment duty the next day, working theBoston Marathon. During the marathon, brothersDzhokhar andTamerlan Tsarnaev detonate twobombs, causing widespread panic in Boston and around the world.
A young couple, Patrick Downes and Jessica Kensky, are injured and taken to separate hospitals, where they are both required to have one leg each amputated. Steve Woolfenden, a family man, is also injured and separated from his toddler son, Leo, who an officer takes to a safe location.
FBISpecial Agent in Charge Richard DesLauriers is assigned to investigate the bombings in collaboration with Davis and the police. In contrast, Tommy searches for evidence and helps people injured or separated from their loved ones in the chaos, including Patrick, Jessica, Steven, and Leo.
FBI analysts review footage of the bombing and identify Dzhokhar and Tamerlan as suspects, but DesLauriers is reluctant to release their photos to the public without further evidence. His hand is forced when the photos are leaked to the press, whileWatertown Police Sergeant Jeffrey Pugliese's men begin conducting door-to-door searches for the pair.
The Tsarnaev brothers killMassachusetts Institute of Technology Police Department officer Sean Collier in a failed attempt to steal his pistol, and thencarjack student Dun "Manny" Meng, telling him that they committed the marathon bombing and plan to conduct another one inNew York City.
While Dzhokhar is in aShell Gas stationconvenience store, Meng escapes from the vehicle and takes refuge at aMobil gas station across the street, where he alerts the police on the whereabouts of the brothers after they drive away in the stolen car. Tommy arrives at the scene, learns of the brothers' plan, and is given the stolen car's GPS tracking number. The tracker leads police to the brothers' location in Watertown, where an armed standoff occurs.
Several officers are injured in the ensuing shootout, where the brothers use both firearms and bombs. While Tamerlan is shooting, Pugliese shoots his ankle, hindering his ability to gather more explosives. Tamerlan orders Dzhokhar to flee to New York City to continue the rampage while he makes a last stand. As the police subdue Tamerlan, Dzhokhar panics and chooses to abandon his brother by fleeing in the SUV, but attempts to mow down several officers in his way. However, he is unaware that Tamerlan is subdued in the middle of the road due to the adrenaline of the gunfight, and unintentionally kills his brother by running over his head and chest.
Meanwhile, Tamerlan's wife, Katherine Russell, and Dzhokhar's college friends fromUMass Dartmouth are detained by theFBI Hostage Rescue Team and questioned by theHigh-Value Interrogation Group. Russell refuses to disclose any knowledge of her husband's illegal activities, describing a Muslim woman’s duties in defiance, while Dzhokhar's roommates appear oblivious to his plans, despite having earlier found bomb components in his possessions.
Later in Watertown, resident David Henneberry realizes Dzhokhar is hiding in the covered boat in his backyard and calls Tommy and SuperintendentWilliam Evans. Dzhokhar is quickly surrounded and arrested by the FBI HRT after a brief standoff. Crowds cheer in the streets of surrounding neighborhoods while Tommy and his colleagues celebrate. The Boston police are invited to attend aBoston Red Sox game, whereDavid Ortiz thanks them for their heroism and tells them to "stay strong".
The epilogue reveals that Dzhokhar was sentenced to death bylethal injection and is awaiting his appeal infederal prison; his three college friends were arrested for obstructing the bombing investigation, and authorities are continuing to seek information regarding Russell's possible involvement in the bombings.
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In addition, cameo appearances include:David Ortiz walking from the dressing room to the field atFenway Park, before switching to archival footage of him speaking to the crowd the day after Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured; Dun Meng inside a pizza restaurant in a scene where actor Yang – sitting at an adjacent table – is portraying him; David Henneberry, who found Dzhokhar Tsarnaev hiding in his boat, as an unnamed citizen standing on a front porch, briefly talking with Wahlberg's character.
The film was one of three originally proposed about the bombings, the other two beingBoston Strong (based onthe book of the same title), set to be directed byDaniel Espinosa and starringCasey Affleck;[8] andStronger, about bombing victimJeff Bauman, starringJake Gyllenhaal.[9] CBS Films purchased the rights toBoston Strong and merged it into the existing script.[10]Stronger was produced separately and released on September 22, 2017; Lionsgate distributed that film in conjunction with its subsidiaryRoadside Attractions.[11]
On March 31, 2015,CBS Films announced it was producing the film asPatriots' Day, depicting the 2013Boston Marathon bombing and manhunt.[12] The script, written byMatt Charman, focused onBoston Police CommissionerEdward F. Davis.[12] The film is also based on the bookBoston Strong and material from60 Minutes.[13] Its final version, not focused specifically on Davis, was written by Peter Berg, Matt Cook, and Joshua Zetumer;Mark Wahlberg plays police officer Sgt. Tommy Saunders andMichelle Monaghan plays his wife Carol.[14] Wahlberg produced the film along withScott Stuber, Dylan Clark, Stephen Levinson, Michael Radutzky, Hutch Parker and Dorothy Aufiero.[15] By February 2016, the apostrophe in the title was dropped, making itPatriots Day. Also by then,J. K. Simmons had joined the cast asWatertown PD Sgt. Jeffrey Pugliese.[16]
CBS Films andLionsgate co-financed the film, with Lionsgate handling distribution.[16] On March 8, 2016,Jimmy O. Yang joined the film's cast as Dun Meng, who was carjacked by the Tsarnaev brothers.[17][18] On the same day,Vincent Curatola was cast as themayor of Boston,Thomas Menino, who was serving his fifth term when the bombings took place.[19] On March 11, 2016, John Goodman signed on to play former Boston Police CommissionerEd Davis.[20] On March 25, 2016, James Colby joined the film to playWilliam B. Evans, a Boston PD superintendent,[21] and following him,Michelle Monaghan joined to play Carol Saunders, Tommy's wife.[14][22] On March 31,Kevin Bacon joined the cast as FBI agent Rick Deslauriers,[15] and on April 4, 2016,Alex Wolff and Themo Melikidze were cast in the film as Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, responsible for the bombing and later manhunt.[23]Michael Beach later joined the film to playMassachusetts governorDeval Patrick.[24]
On April 6, 2016,Rachel Brosnahan andChristopher O'Shea joined the film to play newlyweds Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes, who were at the finish line and seriously injured.[25] The next day,Lana Condor was cast as Sean Collier's prospective girlfriend.[26] On May 5, 2016,Melissa Benoist was cast as Katherine Russell, the widow of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, withKhandi Alexander set to play law enforcement interrogator Veronica, andJake Picking as MIT Police Officer Sean Collier, who was killed 79 hours after the bombing.[27]David Ortiz, who retired from theBoston Red Sox after the 2016 season, appears as himself.[28]
Principal photography began on March 29, 2016, and was conducted inNew York City;Boston;Quincy, Massachusetts;Los Angeles;New Orleans; andPhiladelphia,[29][30][31][32] with production offices and a soundstage set up in one of the Centennial Park warehouses inPeabody, Massachusetts. All interior scenes at the FBI warehouse headquarters, as well as exterior 'command tent' scenes, were shot there.[33] Filming was arranged on Laurel Street inWatertown to recreate the shootout that took place there between police and the Tsarnaev brothers; but after objections by residents, town officials denied permission for the location.[34][35] The City ofMalden was approached to stand in for Laurel Street, and ended up with eight locations in the film.[36] Producers then approachedUniversity of Massachusetts Dartmouth for permission to shoot scenes at the campus, but the request was denied by chancellor Gerry Kavanaugh.[37][38]Emmanuel College stood in for exterior shots of UMass Dartmouth.[39] This was because the latter would not permit the production to film on campus on account of its belief that doing so would be "too disruptive" to the school's community.[40] TheMassachusetts Institute of Technology, where the Tsarnaev brothers killed MIT Police Officer Sean Collier, allowed the film production to shoot "entirely peaceful scenes" on the campus for three days in June.[41][42] Filming also took place at Collier's actual house.[43] The marathon finish line onBoylston Street was duplicated at theNaval Air Station South Weymouth,[44] in addition to scenes filmed at the actual finish line on the day of the 2016 marathon.[45] Dzhokhar's capture was filmed inFramingham, Massachusetts, on the bombing's third anniversary.[46] Additional filming took place atDoyle's Cafe inJamaica Plain on April 14, 2016,Watertown, Massachusetts, for shots of the police station and the sequence depicting Dun Meng escaping to the Mobil Gas station unlike the surveillance footage which was shot inCambridge, Massachusetts, and atLasell College inNewton, Massachusetts, on May 18, 2016.[47][48]
The film is also interspersed with actualCCTV footage of the bombing and later sightings of the brothers.[49][50][51]
Academy Award-winning composers andNine Inch Nails membersTrent Reznor andAtticus Ross were hired to write the musical score for the film.[52]
"Forever (2007 version)" byDropkick Murphys plays during the closing credits of the film; however, it is not included on the film's soundtrack.
Patriots Day premiered on the closing night of theAFI Fest on November 17, 2016. It had a red carpet premiere at theBoch Centre Wang Theatre on December 14, 2016.[53] The film was released in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Sofia, Bulgaria, and Paris, France, on December 21, 2016, followed by a wide release on January 13, 2017.[54]
Patriots Day grossed $31.9 million in the United States and Canada and $20.2 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $52.2 million, against a production budget of $45 million.[4]
In North America, the film had its expansion alongside the openings ofMonster Trucks,The Bye Bye Man, andSleepless, as well as the wide expansions ofSilence andLive by Night, and was expected to gross $18–20 million from 3,120 theaters in its four-dayMLK opening weekend.[55] It made $560,000 from Thursday night previews, less than the $860,000 made by Berg and Wahlberg'sDeepwater Horizon in September. The film ended up opening to $12.9 million (a four-day total of $14.2 million), finishing below expectations and 6th at the box office.[3]
On review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 80% based on 238 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Patriots Day offers a stirring, solidly crafted tribute to the heroes of a real-life American tragedy without straying into exploitative action thriller territory."[56] OnMetacritic, the film has aweighted average score of 69 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[57] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film a rare "A+" on an A+ to F scale.[58]
Peter Debruge ofVariety wrote: "It's genuinely exciting megaplex entertainment, informed by extensive research, featuring bona fide movie stars, and staged with equal degrees of professionalism and respect."[59] Wendy Ide ofThe Observer gave it 4/5 stars, writing, "As a police procedural, this is first-rate: unflinching, briskly paced film-making that pieces together the fast-moving investigation in a wholly satisfying manner."[60]The Hindu's Deborah Cornelious said, "Each time Berg uses real images and actual news footage from April 2013 – including cameos from the people the characters are based on – it only validates the audience reaction to the city's people and its law enforcement agencies. And you'll end up leavingPatriot's Day feeling buoyant after seeing how the city of Boston reacted to the bombings."[61]Robbie Collin ofThe Daily Telegraph gave it 3/5 stars, calling it "stirring, well-acted, moving and built with conviction and flair."[62]
The Atlantic's David Sims was more critical, writing, "The Boston PD's efforts to capture the Tsarnaev brothers is justly depicted as heroic, but it's the crazed decision-making, the random chains of events, and the empty, angry posturing that stick out as most worthy of analysis. If Berg had dug deeper, he could have had a great film on his hands; as it stands, he's delivered a rote, but occasionally thought-provoking, misfire."[63] Jake Wilson ofThe Age gave it 2.5/5 stars, writing, "Much of this feels familiar or worse, especially the cringeworthy finale. Yet Berg is a filmmaker of some artistic ambition, and there are occasional intentionally discordant notes – including a menacing electronic score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross."[64]
Though the film has mostly garnered approval among critics, many Boston-based publications criticized it for glamorizing the events it was based upon, and for the film's focus on Wahlberg's fictional character. In his review forThe Boston Globe,Ty Burr wrote: "It's professionally made, slickly heartfelt, and is offered up as an act of civic healing. At best, it's unnecessary. At worst, it's vaguely insulting", and when further referencing local moviegoer's reaction to Wahlberg's heroic but fictional Tommy Saunders character, he simply stated, "We don't really want to see people who weren't there. Especially when they're everywhere".[65] Writing forEsquire, Boston-based critic Luke O'Neil also criticized Wahlberg's character, stating: "For all his talk of honoring his people, Wahlberg seems content to rely on the most hackneyed of Masshole signifiers in their portrayal."[66] Conversely,The Boston Herald gave the film a positive review.[67]
In response, Peter Berg stated that some people automatically disliked the film as they may have been in close proximity to the Boston bombings or they believed the film was made too quickly after the events had occurred.[68] Katharine Q. Seelye, who was not from Boston, wrote inThe New York Times that the Saunders character was "[t]he biggest point of divergence", as Boston-area residents disliked thecomposite character's involvement in all the major events when he was not a single actual person, while people not from the Boston area "may even appreciate [Saunders] as a narrative device" and "have not really questioned" Saunders's role.[68] She concluded "that moviegoers outside New England pretty much accept the film on its own terms, as entertainment, and Bostonians do not."[68]
TheNational Board of Review honoredMark Wahlberg andPeter Berg with theirSpotlight Award for this film (and also forDeepwater Horizon).[69]
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