I Finally Got Around To Seeing Patriots Day, And It Was Pretty Damn Powerful
Let me just make one thing perfectly clear — I am not a film critic, and this is not a movie review.
I’m just a guy who lives ten minutes outside of the city of Boston, who loves the city of Boston, who is proud to be from the Boston area, who also lived through that week in April of 2013, letting you know how the movie Patriots Day made me feel. Everybody grieves differently. There’s no exact science to it. If you feel like it was too soon for a movie to be made about the Boston Marathon bombings, then, for you, it’s too soon for a movie to be made about the Boston Marathon bombings. There’s no incorrect opinion on that front. It’s whatever you feel. I thought that I was ready to see this movie. After seeing it, I’m not so sure that I was ready.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m still glad that I saw it, but it’s an incredibly emotional experience. I will say this — this movie was made with the intent to document this event as it happened. Many years from now, those who weren’t even born, or were too young to remember it, will be able to watch this film and know exactly what happened. For those of us who actually lived it, that’s where the whole “not ready” part could come into play. Some of us are still healing from that event, whether it be mentally or physically. For some, it’s better to keep moving forward than to look back. For some, it’s just too soon.
I remember staying up through the night of the man hunt, listening to the police scanner when we heard about the carjacking in Watertown. Right away, people were speculating that it was the Marathon bombers, so a lot of us heard that entire gun fight with the homemade bombs going off in real time via a police scanner. In the moment, it certainly felt like it was a scene out of a movie playing out in real life, so it’s no surprise that it became one not long after. Having experienced that scene in real time, it was fascinating to actually have an accurately dramatized visual to go along with that memory.
There are some really upsetting scenes in the film, too, obviously. The one that sticks out in my mind was the scene when Terrorist 1 and Terrorist 2 murdered MIT police officer Sean Collier in cold blood. They don’t really leave much to the imagination in that scene. When you watch a horror movie, and you see somebody get murdered, you can detach yourself from that, mentally, because it’s just a movie. This actually happened. So, while I was watching that scene, I instantly just thought about how I would feel if Sean were my friend or my relative. The graphic depiction of his death would not sit well with me. The scenes involving Martin Richard, although not graphic, were extremely difficult to watch, too.
I’m sure some will disagree with the graphic nature in which the scene after the bombs went off was depicted, but, as upsetting as it was to see, I also think that it was necessary. But that’s where the “too soon” mentality comes in. We’ve all seen movies like Titanic, and the scene with the passengers frozen to death in the water. And we’ve all seen Pearl Harbor, and the graphic nature in which Americans were killed that day in December. But we’re talking about being several decades removed from those historical events before those films were made. They started producing Patriots Day before the second anniversary of the Marathon bombing. So, again, don’t feel like a pussy if you think it’s too soon to see the film.
To the point about the graphic depiction of Boylston Street after the bombs went off — we’ve all seen and read the stories of the victims who lost their lives, limbs, or later had them amputated in nearby hospitals. But to actually witness the horror at the finish line that day as it really happened, I think that it paints a necessary picture of just who those bastards were and what they did, especially for future generations who simply don’t know. It’s important to keep in mind that this film is documenting a historical event as accurately as possible.
People in other parts of the country, and other parts of the world, saw on the news or read in the newspaper that “only” three were killed, while at least 264 people were injured, so “it could have been worse.” There’s nothing more infuriating than hearing that “it could have been worse.” They fucking killed an 8-year-old boy. And those injuries? They weren’t just something that could be stitched up or bandaged, and these people would be fine within a few weeks or months. These were life-altering injuries.
Some victims are still in pain to this day from their injuries, coupled with the mental wounds that will never heal. People need to know what it was that happened down there, so that the terrorists can be viewed as the monsters that they are, and not glorified on the front page of Rolling Stone magazine. People also need to know the stories of these first responders, and the hell that they ran towards, the images that they saw, and the danger that they ignored in order to save dozens upon dozens of lives.
I was also kind of hoping that they wouldn’t overdo it with the forced Boston accents, but they couldn’t help themselves. There are some intense scenes where you’re totally locked in, and then you hear, “It’s a fahkin’ bomb, kehd!” or something to that effect, and you can’t help but roll your eyes. But if you can get over the shitty Boston accents, then you can appreciate that they did a really good job of telling the whole story of what happened.
To the filmmakers’ credit, this movie, emotionally, puts you right back in that week, like you’re re-living it all over again. You’re shocked again, you’re horrified again, you’re devastated again, you’re upset again, you’re angry again, and you’re relieved again. But most of all, you’re proud again. That’s what I remember feeling the most at the end of the film. Your Boston pride will intensify all over again. And there will be tears in that theater. Lots of them, as the conclusion of the film is a moving tribute to the lives that were lost that day.