Stronger

Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Jeff Bauman whose life changes in an instant when he loses his legs in the Boston Marathon bombing. Based on Bauman's real experiences, the screenplay by John Pollono follows the man's struggle to deal with his loss while an entire city embraces him as the symbol for "Boston Strong."

Stronger spends a little more time on Bauman the screw-up and less on the man's finding the strength to work through his accident (mostly shrunken down into a couple of montages) than expected. Post-accident, when the film focuses on Bauman's struggle and that of his girlfriend (Tatiana Maslany) the film's focus is clear, although the amount of side characters, including Miranda Richardson as Bauman's mother and a host of friends and family (none of whom seem to understand what the man is going through, but are happy to cash in on his celebrity), aren't nearly as strong or compelling.

[Lionsgate, Blu-ray $24.99 / DVD $19.98]