【Room Girls Sex Skill】

What does it mean to be Room Girls Sex Skillhailed as a hero just for surviving? How does it feel to be remembered for the single worst day of your life? What does it cost to put on a brave face when you feel like anything but? And what in the hell does "Boston Strong" even mean, anyway?

SEE ALSO: Jake Gyllenhaal and Jeff Bauman rib each other in hilarious interview

Those are the questions at the heart of Stronger, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Boston Marathon bombing survivor Jeff Bauman. The marketing suggests an uplifting tearjerker, and that's not entirely wrong. You probably will come away with your cheeks wet and your spirits lifted.

What makes Strongerso powerful, though, is that it's notinterested in cheap, easy inspiration. Quite the opposite, in fact. Director David Gordon Green and writer John Pollono dig past the cheery slogans and meaningless platitudes to find the human man underneath the heroic image we've constructed of him.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Although Strongercovers the event itself and the immediate aftermath, it's mainly interested in the weeks and months that followed, as Jeff struggles to recover physically, mentally, and emotionally.

To that end, Green even avoids showing us the devastation and destruction for most of the movie. Instead, he keeps the camera trained close on his actors, keeping the focus on his characters and not on the events that have come to define them in the national imagination.

Mashable Top Stories Stay connected with the hottest stories of the day and the latest entertainment news. Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

And what we see is not pretty.

The Jeff we meet early in the film is a generally good sport, if a bit of a flake. After the event, he tries his best to take everything in stride. He cracks jokes, cooperates with the authorities, reassures his loved ones that everything's gonna be okay, he's gonna be okay.

But it doesn't take long for the darkness to come creeping in. He's bewildered by the attention he's getting, and desperate to move on. He's filled with anger about what he's lost and guilt about what he hasn't, and all of it manifests in a mean, reckless edge.

Through it all, people – friends, family, and total strangers alike – insist on seeing him as the hero he knows he isn't. "It's so good to see you're healed and you didn't let the terrorists win," a fan chirps after running into him at a bar. "You sure about that?" he sneers back.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Green's empathy doesn't stop with Jeff, either. Tatiana Maslany has a crucial supporting role as Erin, Jeff's ex and the only reason he was at the marathon in the first place. When she and Jeff reconcile after the event, it's clear that the love between them is genuine. However, so is the sense of obligation, and it warps their dynamic in ways that neither is eager to acknowledge.

In another, heart-wrenching scene, Jeff finally meets Carlos (Carlos Sanz), the man who saved his life at the finish line, and learns what that day meant for him. That compassion radiates out and out and out, even extending, eventually, to all of us – the people who made Jeff into the hero we needed him to be, without stopping to wonder what he wanted to be.

It doesn't seem like much of a spoiler to reveal that Strongerends happily, considering that the real Bauman is out there doing press with Gyllenhaal for the movie. But this is the rare inspirational drama that understands that the difficult journey is what makes the destination worthwhile. That's something worth getting in your feels about.

---

Featured Video For You

---

The people of Boston explain their city pride

---

• Games
• Deals
• Science
• Digital Culture
• Life
• Social Good
• Entertainment
• Tech

• NYT Strands hints, answers for April 26
• The next generation of iPhones won't have a TrueDepth rear camera, says analyst
• Here's why Google Home fails when you ask for the temperature 'inside'
• Reese's has a brand new candy bar and it's stuffed full of Reese's Pieces
• Bomb Envy
• Apple released iOS 11.1 with hundreds of new emoji for iPhone and iPad
• Beauty pageant contestants talk domestic violence instead of bra size
• AT&T will open AI marketplace to the public next year
• Commissioning Misleading Core i9
• 'Overwatch' players settle absurdly long overtime in the most hilarious way

• Rihanna wants Trump to please stop playing her music at his 'tragic rallies'
• Why Apple will no longer report iPhone sales
• These videos will get you fired up to vote in the midterms
• Redbooth is Apple TV's first enterprise app
• Why 'Torch Song' on Broadway is worth checking out: Review
• iOS 12.1 extends controversial processor throttling feature to the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X
• Facebook belatedly removes racist Trump campaign ad
• The hackers getting paid to keep the internet safe
• British athlete robbed at gunpoint in Rio, reports say
• A Queen superfan's review of 'Bohemian Rhapsody'

• Philips now allows customers to 3D print replacement parts
• Hello Aibo, goodbye Alexa: Sony turns robot dog into AI assistant
• This BBC Kid Halloween costume is just too good
• Hello Aibo, goodbye Alexa: Sony turns robot dog into AI assistant
• Exceptionally rare radio sources detected in the distant universe
• Nintendo's Reggie Fils
• Slack went down, and naturally workers ran to Twitter to vent about it
• Twitter user discovers his kids were given expired biscuits for Halloween
• Best headphones deal: Save up to 51% on Beats at Amazon
• Apple released iOS 11.1 with hundreds of new emoji for iPhone and iPad

• The best day to book your flight, according to Google
• Girl films people constantly tripping over a step at a college football game
• The new Amazon Oasis is big and waterproof, but it doesn't feel like progress
• Here's why Google Home fails when you ask for the temperature 'inside'
• Best IPL deal: Save $80 on Braun IPL Silk·Expert
• This comedy rap has gone so viral pretty much every line is now a meme
• I finally understand what the iPhone X 'notch' is for
• Elon Musk calls out reporters on Tesla earnings call
• Bargaining For the Common Good
• Student dressed up as the scariest thing, at least according to her exes