Ranking December 2017's Movies From Worst To Best
3. Stronger
RottenTomatoes Score: 93% (7.5/10)
Box Office: The $30 million biopic of Boston Marathon bombing survivor Jeff Bauman grossed a pathetic $1.6 million in its opening weekend, and some three months after its initial U.S. release, has only just passed the $6 million mark.
Considering the worthiness and "prestige appeal" of the material, Jake Gyllenhaal's involvement and the wide praise for the movie from the festival circuit, it's a surprising and somewhat depressing result.
Verdict: Jake Gyllenhaal adds another incredible performance to his ever-expanding oeuvre in Stronger, an agreeably down-the-line drama which keeps its style low-key and simplistic, giving Gyllenhaal room to deliver a complex, well-rounded portrayal of a regular man triumphing over an horrific setback.
Gyllenhaal's efforts are further boosted by excellent supporting work from Tatiana Maslany and Miranda Richardson, and while the film follows a fairly conventional structure and style, that's really all it needed to do.