If you need a movie about the heroes who emerge in the wake of a tragedy, you can do no wrong having Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg to make it happen. The duo's last two films were the survival thriller Lone Survivor and disaster drama Deepwater Horizon, the latter in theaters right now. But it's their third collaboration, the Boston Marathon bombing film Patriots Day, that many consider a dark horse for the Oscars, and now we're getting our first look at it.
Like Deepwater Horizon, this appears to be less about the event itself and more about the people who set fear aside and took part in the manhunt to find the terrorists responsible for the 2013 bombing. Wahlberg plays Sgt. Tommy Saunders who is there at the time of the blast and joined in on the manhunt. J.K. Simmons, Michelle Monaghan, Kevin Bacon, John Goodman, Melissa Benoist, and Alex Wolff co-star. Here's the synopsis:
In the aftermath of an unspeakable act of terror, Police Sergeant TOMMY SAUNDERS (Mark Wahlberg) joins courageous survivors, first responders and investigators in a race against the clock to hunt down the bombers before they strike again. Weaving together the stories of Special Agent RICHARD DESLAURIERS (Kevin Bacon), Police Commissioner ED DAVIS (John Goodman), Sergeant JEFFREY PUGLIESE (J.K. Simmons) and nurse CAROL SAUNDERS (Michelle Monaghan) this visceral and unflinching chronicle captures the suspense of the most sophisticated manhunt in law enforcement history and the strength of the people of Boston.
Patriots Day gets an Oscar-qualifying limited run on December 21st before going wide on January 13th 2017.
