Shariq Ansari
Jake Gyllenhaal has been nothing short of terrific as of late, and is undeniably the most consistent American actor since appearing in ‘Jarhead’. With only a single Oscar nomination for ‘Brokeback Mountain’, despite his stellar performance in ‘Nightcrawler’, Gyllenhaal looks on course to bag a second one for the upcoming ‘Stronger’. The movie is adapted from the book of the same name, an autobiographical piece written by Boston Marathon Bombing survivor Jeff Bauman. From the trailer, I can conclude that the movie is interested in the personal life of a man who was a victim of an inhuman act, along with many others.
Gyllenhaal has taken up another challenge, and is a double amputee for most of the film. While there are elements in the trailer that makes the movie feel like most Oscar baits: slow montages mixed with heavy emotional music, clips focusing a lot on aggravated emotional content, conversations we’ve seen in endless movies and an effort to convey a bittersweet tone. But one may argue that this is a reflection of the true circumstances in Bauman’s life and it’s to early to judge a movie. In any case, the one thing that’s very apparent in the the trailer is another power-packed performance from Jake Gyllenhaal, reminiscent of the actor’s recent feature ‘Southpaw’.
