Stronger (2017)

There are few actors in their 30s more well-rounded than [Jake] Gyllenhaal right now, as capable of taking on disturbing psychologies in aggressive indies as they are the lead roles in crowd-pleasing tearjerkers.

Green looks for small but meaningful ways to complicate and deepen the well-trod story he's telling, and by the end, those complications help the film earn its uplift.

This isn't the positive movie many will want, but it's something better: a window into post-traumatic stress and exploded identity.

"Stronger" takes more artistic risks than any other American-made "inspired by true events" picture I can recall.

Stronger is a film filled with warmth and humanity, but one that doesn’t sugarcoat the reality that comes with it.

It's a movie that's allergic to saccharine manipulation or easy sentimentality.

The movie is a straightforward, even familiar, tale of survival and recovery, but its grave respect for the unique extremity of its protagonist's ordeal cancels out any impulse toward exploitation.

Solid, straightforward and touching.

A deeply human and often brutally honest depiction of trauma and recovery, anchored by three superb performances — though it often falls victim to formula.

That Stronger, as unpleasant as it is, doesn't shy away from the complicated side of recovery is admirable to say the least.