The US holiday of Patriots’ Day may not mean much to many South Africans, but it does for me. Not because I am secretly an American, as I am as passionately South African as you are likely to find. But rather because it’s the day the Boston marathon is run on. And also, 3 years ago, when a tragic bombing took place that affected the running and sports community not just in Boston, but the world over.
I am an avid runner in my spare time (those who know how much I run, might argue that I work in my spare time), and I have actually run the Boston Marathon and as such, have a special connection to the tragic events of the bombing of the Boston marathon.
And as with all tragic events, it’s no surprise that a movie was going to be made of the event, bring both the tragedy and heroism of the day to the big screen. Though I am surprised one was made so soon, as normally Hollywood waits a little longer before they make films on events such as these. Either way, the aptly named Patriots Day is directed by Peter Berg and stars Mark Wahlberg (who is from the city), with this being the duo’s third time collaborating on movies based on real world events after Lone Survivor and the recent Deepwater Horizon.
And if it was up to Wahlberg, they would actually have made this movie even earlier, as in an interview with the Boston Globe he went on to say:
“It’s not soon enough. This stuff is happening all around us.”
And for this movie, they are certainly going all out to chug at those emotion strings and stoke some pride in the American audiences. Most of that will be the responsibility of the film’s strong cast, which besides for Wahlberg also features John Goodman, JK Simmons, Kevin Bacon and Michelle Monahagan. The film will also be scored by the remarkably talented duo of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (Gone Girl, The Social Network).
And based on this first trailer for the film which was released last night, it appears this combination could be at the top of their game as well:
Although based on the events of the day, the story itself is slightly fictionalized, with Wahlberg’s character actually being a composite of several real-life police officers. That doesn’t mean they are intending to water down the events of the film though, at least not based on that trailer.
Some trivia: Though I happened to actually be running the Boston marathon while they were filming the movie, I do not see myself in the trailer. I am hopeful though that I can make my big screen debut in the final film, in the big role of ‘random runner’.
Patriots Day is due for release in the US on January 13, 2017 and at the time of writing, does not have a South African release date.
Last Updated: October 6, 2016
