Michael Beach, who plays former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick in “Patriots Day,” about the Boston Marathon Bombing, sat down with TheWrap’s Stuart Brazell discuss whether the film dramatizing the 2013 terrorist attack was made too soon.
“Because the world is being deluged by these terrorist acts all over, not just here in America but everywhere, I think a film like ‘Patriots Day’ helps us,” Beach said. “I really do. I know that most people I speak to when they come out of the film — there is a sense of hope, there is a sense of community and how important that is.”
“Patriots Day” is based on the true story but features a combination of real-life and fictional characters. In the aftermath of the attack, Boston cop Sergeant Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg) joins survivors, first responders and investigators in a race against the clock to hunt down the bombers before they strike again. The blasts killed three and injured 264 others, resulting in Patrick ordering the region’s transportation system to be shut down and asking Boston’s residents to stay inside.
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), the film takes viewers inside the manhunt for the two terrorists.
Peter Berg, who has previously teamed with Wahlberg on “Lone Survivor” and “Deepwater Horizon,” directed the film, in addition to co-writing the screenplay with Matt Cook and Joshua Zetumer. Berg developed the story along with Cook, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson.
“Patriots Day” opens today in limited release, before hitting theaters nationwide on Jan. 13.
Also watch carjacking survivor Dun “Danny” Meng (played by Jimmy O. Yang) and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the brother of the Boston Marathon Bomber (played by Themo Melikidze) discuss the film in the video below: