SEATTLE – Three years after the Boston Marathon bombing gripped a nation on 24-hour news channels, Patriots Day recounts the dramatic events on the big screen.
Director Peter Berg made the movie's accuracy his own personal mission.
“I was in New York, editing a film (when it happened)," Berg said. "No one knew how bad it was, there were all these horrible rumors of hundreds of fatalities and it was that same, sick, painful feeling I had being in New York on 9-11."
Star and proud Boston native Mark Wahlberg approached the project with similar feelings of responsibility. He wanted to ensure the movie would treat his hometown with respect and sensitivity.
"Seeing how people in Boston responded to this - men, women, from all walks of life - came together in a way and did some extraordinary things, and it really has redefined the term 'hero,’” he said.
Public officials, first responders, and survivors consulted on the film. Some scenes were even filmed in real neighborhoods and homes, with the blessing of Bostonians who lived through the ordeal.
“Coming out to the set three years later and meeting me and supporting me for portraying this character and giving me this information of what happened that night, that is what it takes to be real courageous and that's how I feel inspired to do this project right,” said actor Themo Melikidize, who plays bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
The movie tells the story of the attack and aftermath through the eyes of a few key players - including newlyweds Patrick Downes and Jessica Kensky, who both lost legs as a result of the bombing.
“It's a personal story but it's also a collective story. We realize that we're representatives of a much larger survivor community,” Downes said.
Kensky added, "Until we get hurt, (the movie) is portraying this really happy time in our life, and so I actually think it's a gift to have that newlywed time captured on film."
The couple visited the set and keep in touch with filmmakers.
"To see Patrick and Jessica come out after experiencing these horrible injuries that continue to plague them, and Jess is about to go have another surgery, but yet they have so much love, so much positivity, and so much light - that's a hero,” Wahlberg said.
The emotional strength of Patriots Day is just that - a reminder that even in the worst of times, Americans are strongest together.
"It's a testament not just to Boston but to the idea of love and the idea of togetherness and hope,” said actor Michael Beach, who portrays Gov. Deval Patrick in the movie. “When you have people working together, you can't do anything that will destroy us."
Patriots Day is rated R and opens in Seattle on January 13.
