Patriots Day - A Review

 By Megan Grossi

I always worry when Hollywood decides to make a movie about a real life tragedy. Sometimes the movies are made with no further intent than to profit off of the pain that people went through (or so it seems). I went into Patriots Day fearing that that would be the direction the movie went, but I was surprised and relieved by the movie’s end.

This Mark Wahlberg film depicted the events that took place during and immediately after the Boston Marathon Bombing on April 15, 2013. The events were followed through the eyes of Sergeant Tommy Saunders, (a composite of 3 Boston Police Officers) present during the bombing itself. Without going into too much detail (we all remember what happened to our city four years ago), after the bombs were detonated and the streets cleared, Saunders and the Boston Police Department began investigating, and were joined by the FBI, since they suspected terrorism. As the days of hard work progressed (measured in “hours until” and “hours after” the bombing) information poured into the police from willing marathon attendants and not a moment was spared in tracking down and identifying the terrorists responsible.

Sean Collier, the M.I.T. police officer killed in his cruiser was a particularly sad moment during the movie.  Collier graduated with honors from Salem State University in 2009.  This past November Police Commissioner Ed Davis and FBI Special Agent Rick DesLauriers, spoke at Salem State as part of the Speakers Series.  The proceeds of that event went to benefit the Sean A. Collier Criminal Justice Scholarship Fund, established by Collier’s family.

The movie depicted the plot of the Tsarnaev brothers, from the hijacking of Dun Meng’s Mercedes SUV to the supposed manipulation and aggression of Tamerlan Tsarnaev against his younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (currently being held in the U.S. Penitentiary ADX, in Fremont County, Colorado). However, the movie does not end with Dzhokhar being found in David Henneberry's boat in Watertown.

Throughout the movie, the audience watched a mixture of filmed footage alongside footage from the week itself. News reports of the race early in the day opened the film, followed by recordings of the explosion and security camera videos from outside the restaurants in Boston and other places the Tsarnaev brothers dropped their pressure cooker bombs.

Photos of Dzhokhar coming out of the boat were followed by his surrender.  Near the end of the film the audience got to hear Big Papi’s speech at Fenway thanking and congratulating the Boston Police Department and FBI agents. However,  the very end of the film finally came when footage of interviews with survivors of the attack and members of the force were projected, followed by tributes to the victims of this horrible act.

I was in tears for most of the film. Nobody outright sobbed during the film, but a somber feeling of pain, loss, and unity filled the theater. I personally was not at the race, but I was still affected by the Boston Marathon Bombing, and I’m sure a majority of students and faculty alike can say the same.

Patriots Day was phenomenally done. The film focused on the terror that filled Boston, the strain and effort of our police force, and our residents' ability to stand strong during this crisis. Minimal fuel was given to Islamophobic prejudices. This movie was not meant to divide, rather, Patriots Day helps remind us of how the people of Boston and Massachusetts all stood together – and together, as one heartbreaking day fell to the next, is how we got through the events of  April, 2013.

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