PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Stronger (Blu-ray) (2017)

Stronger (Blu-ray) (2017)

If you create a user account, you can add your own review of this DVD
Released 16-May-2018
Cover Art

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

Details At A Glance

General		Extras
Category	Drama	Featurette-Making Of-Faith, Hope and Love: Becoming Stronger
Rating
Year Of Production	2017
Running Time	118:51 (Case: 116)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu	Cast & Crew
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	David Gordon Green
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Jake Gyllenhaal Tatiana Maslany Miranda Richardson Richard Lane Jr. Nate Richman Lenny Clarke Patty O'Neil Clancy Brown Danny McCarthy Frankie Shaw Carlos Sanz
Case	Standard Blu-ray	Starring
RPI	$24.95	Music	Michael Brook

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.40:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.40:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No	Miscellaneous
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    Arriving mere months after the release of 2016's Patriots Day, Stronger is not just another film solely concerned with the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. Indeed, whereas the Peter Berg-directed Patriots Day superbly covered the attack and subsequent nationwide manhunt for the bombers, Stronger traverses different territory to tell a more personal and intimate story; a biographical drama about one of the many people affected by the blasts. The material is more or less Hallmark "movie of the week" territory, but director David Gordon Green astutely avoids maudlin sentiment. Indeed, as opposed to overbearing music or cheesy, on-the-nose dialogue, Green's approach is sophisticated and low-key, relying on the strength of both the actors and the story. The R rating helps, as honest-to-goodness gravitas and authenticity permeates the production, with Green able to explore less savoury details whilst always displaying appropriate tact.

    A blue-collar Costco employee living in Boston, Jeff Bauman (Jake Gyllenhaal) still lives with his alcoholic mother (Miranda Richardson) and spends most of his time binge drinking with his pals. Jeff's immaturity and unreliability frustrates ex-girlfriend Erin (Tatiana Maslany), whom he cannot get over or let go even after three break-ups. Following a brief meeting with Erin in a bar, Jeff hopes to definitively prove his worth by attending the 2013 Boston Marathon to cheer her on as she passes the finish line. However, Jeff is caught in a bomb blast, which instantly changes his life forever. Losing both of his legs, Jeff is confronted with a grim road to recovery as he adjusts to life confined to a wheelchair, relying on his extended family as he endures therapy and rehab. Jeff's relationship with Erin becomes stronger than ever when their romance rekindles, and he's lionised as a symbol of resilience by the city, but Jeff is reluctant to embrace his new existence - he perceives himself as a loser, and struggles to come to terms with his disability that will never heal.

    Adapted from Jeff's 2014 memoir (which was co-written by Bret Witter), Stronger purportedly represents an accurate retelling of his story, hewing relatively closely to the real-life events. Scripted by John Pollono (his first feature film credit), the movie wastes little time getting to the marathon bombing, which actually occurs at the ten-minute mark. The build-up to the event is short and brisk, with no half-hearted attempts to cover Jeff's childhood (or life in general up until that point), and with the screenplay giving proper dimension to the characters in the aftermath of the attack. Furthermore, not much time is dedicated to the bombing itself, and Stronger subsequently remains focused on Jeff to explore how the event permanently affected both him and his family. Pollono's script emphasises the immense pressure that Jeff felt on his road to rehabilitation, doubting himself and struggling with internalised chaos, in addition to suffering from PTSD. The movie is realistic and at times uncomfortable, highlighting Jeff's recognisably human shortcomings and preserving his family's insalubrious qualities. Nobody here is a saint, and Jeff is not infallible (he is prone to aggressive outbursts of temper), but Stronger celebrates his spirit of redemption, showing the man coming to terms with both his disability and what he represents to the people of Boston.

    Admittedly, there is nothing groundbreaking about Stronger from a narrative standpoint. This is a true story, but the list of recognisable clichés runs long: an arrested adolescent finally growing up, ex-lovers getting back together following a tragedy, a person overcoming adversity, and so on. Nevertheless, Green's treatment of the material is top-flight; he moulds the conventions into a powerful and compelling watch, eschewing manipulative melodrama and establishing a stark tone that rings true. Green may not be an obvious choice for this type of production due to such directorial credits as Pineapple Express and Your Highness, but this is not his first foray into low-budget drama (see George Washington or Snow Angels), and he directs Stronger with a confident hand. Smartly, Green does not revel in exploitation, minimising the bombing's gory details - rather, the rating permits effective yet tactful scenes showing Jeff's bandages being changed, or first responders tending to Jeff's legs after the blast. The dialogue feels authentic to boot, particularly with curse words allowed, while other details contribute to the feeling of realism, especially Boston's enthusiasm for their professional sports teams.

    Gyllenhaal, who also produced the movie and was instrumental in bringing this story to the big screen, is arguably at his finest portraying Jeff Bauman, supported by seamless visual effects to sell the illusion of amputated legs. Stronger calls for a lot of the actor, but his handling of the dramatic material is outstanding; see the aforementioned scene of Jeff's bandages being changed in hospital for the first time, or an emotionally intense moment in a car with Erin. Speaking of Erin, she has a genuine part to play in the story beyond a simple romantic interest, feeling perpetually frustrated by the situation but internalising her annoyance. Maslany, who made such a positive impact in the cult television series Orphan Black, is sublime in the role, further demonstrating her immaculate dramatic chops. It’s a welcomely nuanced variation on the long-suffering girlfriend role. Rounding out the primary cast is Richardson as Jeff's brass tacks mother; she espouses a completely believable Boston accent, and does not glamorise the character. Every member of the cast feels wholly authentic, with Green even recruiting the actual medical professionals and rehabilitation team who helped in Jeff's recovery.

    Nothing feels inessential within Stronger's two-hour running time, and each event receives sufficient breathing room to make a real impact, which is the major benefit of a biographical movie zeroing in on a short space of time. It does not exactly reach great emotional heights, and it is not pleasant viewing, but this is a worthwhile story that is well-told, even if the movie fails to acknowledge that Jeff and Erin filed for divorce in early 2017. Even though Stronger bombed at the box office and was completely ignored by major film award associations, it is worth your time and attention.

Don't wish to see plot synopses in the future? Change your configuration.

Transfer Quality

Video

    Despite Stronger's abject box office failure (it grossed $5,000 in Australia from a mere twelve cinemas), Roadshow thankfully elected to release this biographical drama on Blu-ray with an AVC-encoded 1080p presentation framed at the movie's original aspect ratio of 2.40:1. With the box office performance in mind, Roadshow could have saved money by squeezing everything onto a single-layer disc with severe compression, but instead Stronger is presented across a dual-layered BD-50, mastered with an impressive average video bitrate of 32 Mbps. I checked the bitrate at various points using my Sony player, and was delighted to see that it consistently remained above 30 Mbps, even fleetingly hitting 40 Mbps at times. Stronger was reportedly shot digitally with Arri Alexa cameras, and Roadshow's Blu-ray is a sublime, faithful representation of the source; razor-sharp, highly textured, impressively tight, and free of unsightly compression problems.

    Like numerous other movies captured with Arri Alexa cameras, Stronger carries a light but noticeable layer of omnipresent source noise, which was likely added in post-production to make it look more cinematic and reminiscent of celluloid. (For a minute I did wonder if it was shot on 35mm.) Luckily, the noise is rendered beautifully throughout; it's exceptionally tight and refined as a result of the competent encode and generous bitrate, serving to subtly enhance the texture of the image. As a result, the presentation at no point looks smooth or smeary, which cannot be said for all digitally-shot productions. Admittedly, shadow detail does slightly struggle from time to time in specific lighting conditions, and the image lacks the consistent textural "pop" of 4K Ultra HD, but these shortcomings stem more from the inherent limitations of 1080p coupled with the source's limitations. Aside from this, the level of detail on display is genuinely remarkable, with the finest of textures ably rendered on skin, clothing, props and environments. During close-ups of Gyllenhaal or Maslany, for instance the shot at 29:15, every pore and wrinkle is brought out, with impressive highlights and superb sharpness. Luckily, fine detail doesn't falter in wider shots, as Roadshow's presentation handles everything capably, and there are no issues with object delineation.

    Even without the aid of High Dynamic Range, Stronger's palette is perfectly sufficient, faithfully maintaining the creative intentions of the filmmakers. The colour grading is specific and stylised, emphasising teal and blue hues, while skin tones are accurate and neutral, without any unnecessarily aggressive saturation. The crew speak in the extras about using natural light sources for the majority of the shoot, which translates surprisingly well to home video even in regular old 1080p, with bar and apartment interiors looking realistic and lived-in. Contrast, too, is well-judged; blacks are deep and the transfer carries an exceptional sense of depth. Clarity is above-average no matter the lighting conditions, with darker scene never looking muddy or problematic. In terms of the encode, I noticed some banding during the opening company logos, but it's not a big deal. The movie proper exhibits no compression problems; no ringing, aliasing, macroblocking, mosquito noise, or anything else to spoil the image. Stronger could look better in 4K resolution with a lick of High Dynamic Range, but that's neither here nor there - it's difficult to imagine a better 1080p encode.

    Only English subtitles are included. I had no issues reading them.

*Video Ratings Summary*
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

The disc's sole audio option is a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, which appears to reflect how the movie was originally mixed, and exhibited theatrically. Audiophiles will no doubt express frustration over the lack of an object-based Atmos or DTS:X remix, but the 5.1 mix leaves little to be desired from an encoding and mixing standpoint. Stronger primarily consists of dialogue, and it's always handled excellently - in each and every scene, no matter the background noise, dialogue is clear and comprehensible when intended. Even when voices are muffled from standing behind glass or doors, the actors can still be understood. The subwoofer is only used scarcely to accentuate specific sound effects - the bomb blasts themselves are not exactly deafening since they are observed from a distance, but the rumbling is deep and the explosions make an impact. The surround channels, meanwhile, are really only engaged in busy crowd scenes, such as whilst at the marathon, in the hospital, or inside a bar. There isn't much in the way of separation to speak of, though that traces back to the source and is not a fault of the encode. Music comes through all channels with pleasing clarity to make the soundscape fuller and more immersive.

With no encoding artefacts, drop-outs or sync issues, Stronger sounds fantastic on Blu-ray, and I doubt an object-based remix would be able to amplify the listening experience in any significant way.

*Audio Ratings Summary*
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

Only a single featurette is included on the disc. Alas, there are no deleted scenes, nor is there a commentary or even a trailer.

Faith, Hope & Love: Becoming Stronger (HD; 29:27)

Rather than a selection of short featurettes, the disc's sole special feature is this involving, well-produced half-hour documentary about the making of Stronger. The extra efficiently runs through a variety of topics, covering the origins of the screenplay (scribe John Pollono even conducted his own research to buttress the material from the book), how various cast and crew got involved, incorporating the real people involved in Jeff's recovery, and more. Naturally, the process involved in making Gyllenhaal appear to have no legs is delved into; every department - from costumes, props, camera, digital effects, etc. - contributed to some degree in order to create such a convincing illusion. There is ample behind-the-scenes footage intercut with the extensive interviews (Jeff himself even chimes in), making this a fascinating and worthwhile watch.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

Compared to Lionsgate's Region A-locked release, the local disc only misses out on Spanish subtitles. It's a draw. Buy local.

Summary

Stronger is a powerful and involving human drama set in the aftermath of a terrible contemporary event. It also serves as a nice companion piece to Patriots Day, with the movies covering different aspects of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. This is not exactly pleasant or entertaining viewing, but it is essential, particularly for those who appreciate fine performances and affecting drama.

Roadshow have done a terrific job bringing Stronger to Blu-ray. The video and audio are absolutely top-notch; it's difficult to imagine the movie looking any better short of a 4K release. The disc's single extra, a half-hour behind-the-scenes featurette, is also worthwhile. All things considered, this one comes recommended.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Review Equipment
DVD	Sony UBP-X700 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player, using HDMI output
Display	LG OLED65E6T. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 2160p.
Audio Decoder	Built in to amplifier/receiver. This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated.
Amplification	Samsung Series 7 HT-J7750W
Speakers	Samsung Tall Boy speakers, 7.1 set-up

Other Reviews NONE