User Reviews

Well-made with engaging performances and a good script, 'What doesn't kill you' makes for an afternoons decent entertainment. Allegedly based on real-life events which is a scary thought that life can be so hard for some people. Comparisons to 'The Departed' are inevitable, although a far superior film, 'The Departed' suffered from a lack of humanity. Mark Ruffallo provides a human heart to this film with an affecting performance that stays with you long after the film has ended. Ethan Hawke suffers with a one-dimensional character and bad editing and Donnie Wahlberg provides able support. All in all, a very competent film well told.

Not a bad movie. I found What doesn't kill you a okay film. What doesn't kill you" was done on the cheap. The editing and film quality could have been done better, but however, the actors more than made up with their strong performances for the films short comings. The story is interesting. The details were so well done. I would bet the script has to be based off a true story. I would bet my bottom dollar many university will use this movie as a study on how hard it is for criminals to break the cycle of crime and violence. All in all a good movie. I give this movie a seven out of ten. I got family around the Boston area and I have say I was impressed with how well the actors picked up the areas accent.

Story of two guys from Boston. Both are petty criminals on the low end of the Boston crime organizations. As they try to make a human wage, both have to deal with their demons. When one decides to try for one last score the other has to decide whether to go along. Well acted and well made examination of the effects of crime on the criminals and their family. Stars Mark Ruffalo and Ethan Hawke are excellent as the two friends who are trying to just get ahead. This is a real slice of life film (based it says on a true story) that makes you feel as though you are in and around the suburbs of Boston. I really liked this film and its often left turns that mirror the way life is. If I have any complaints its that the film at times seems to be going nowhere. Yes the characters in a way are stuck going no where, but a film shouldn't feel as though it doesn't have a point. Still the pluses out weigh the minuses and this is a film that I'm going to recommend to friends and family who want a good crime story that doesn't follow the same old path. Definitely worth a look.

Paulie and Brian, two would be wise guys living in South Boston, are seen as teenagers working on petty deals for the area's boss, Pat Kelly. They just act as gofers, while learning their profession. The two grow up into full time criminals. Paulie is the strongest of the two. Brian, who marries his sweetheart, Stacy, is more of a follower. There is a strong bond between these two men.

Pursuing a career in crime did not come easy for the duo. When Brian turns into drugs, he begins a spiral road that will get him and his partner in jail for something that goes wrong; they must pay for what they did. In prison, Brian meets Sully, a former alcoholic, who is now an advocate for staying clean and sober. Trying to get even with a pedophile, both men get into a lot of trouble just a few days before they are to be released. Paulie, knowing Brian needs to go home to his family takes the blame and stays behind for his bad conduct.

Paulie has always been dead set against trying to rob armored vehicles. The way he figures, it is a crime that must be done in daylight, the odds are against the perpetrators, so he stays clear away from this type of action. Brian, now a free man, suffers from a lack of a job, not being able to make ends meet for Stacy and his sons. When Paulie proposes for him to go along, the allure of money weighs heavily on his situation, but he reckons, at last, his family is worth more to him now than whatever he can get out of the deal.

This is an interesting crime film directed by Brian Goodman, an actor that is making his debut with the film. Mr. Goodman also wrote the screenplay with Donnie Wahlberg and Paul Murray, which we are told is based on a true story. "What Doesn't Kill You" has a look of older films of the genre. The Boston in which the story takes place is in the middle of a bad winter making it look bleak and miserable just to be out on those snowed streets. What Mr. Goodman accomplished was an ensemble piece which does not disappoint, in spite of minor flaws that can easily be overlooked. Chris Norr, the cinematographer takes us to places that movies do not dare to go. The incidental music is by Alex Wurman.

Ethan Hawke and Mark Ruffalo match one another perfectly. It is clear to see the bond Paulie and Brian had all their lives. Mr. Hawke has the flashier part as Paulie, but do not be too hasty to discard Mr. Ruffalo's contribution to the film with his take on Brian. Mr. Ruffalo proves why he is one of the best actors of his generation, bar none. Amanda Peet has a good opportunity to shine with her Stacy. There are surprises in the supporting roles, Mr. Goodman, the director, being one of them as the crime boss Pat Kelly. Will Lyman is also excellent as Sully, the man that wants to sincerely help Brian find his way, and Donnie Wahlberg is seen as a detective that knows what Paulie and Brian are made of.

WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU is a film which has familiarity working against it. It's a working class crime drama about a couple of brothers who live in a world of petty theft, general criminality and drugs, and the story sees one of them trying to go straight and make good for his family. The film is based on the experiences of writer/director Brian Goodman, but the tropes are so similar to many films which have come before that the viewer feels rather jaded by it all.

Saying that, the film does have one saving grace, which is a lead role for Mark Ruffalo. Others like Donnie Wahlberg and Ethan Hawke are okay, but it's Ruffalo who shines in a star-making turn here. Ruffalo has been one of my favourite modern actors in Hollywood for a while, delivering compelling performances in ZODIAC and SPOTLIGHT among others, and he's equally authentic here; you can see the anguish lurking behind his eyes. Without Ruffalo, this would have been a slog to sit through; with him it's pretty decent.

Expecting this film to be another predictable action movie, I was in for a HUGE surprise. Wow!!! Everything, the acting, writing, editing, and the music score, all made a brilliant contribution to this masterpiece which observes the childhood and lives of two relentless criminals. Mark and Ethan's stunning performance elevates the film from a standard gritty fare into an emotional, brutal, bitter realism that will hit home for so many! I would've never imagined Mark and Ethan's individual acting styles to be so forceful when combined. The two are a perfect match for this movie. Ruffalo did his homework and steals the show by giving a flawless, Oscar deserving performance as Brian Reilly, a man who feels trapped in crime to financially support his family while discreetly maintaining a growing drug addiction. Ethan Hawke was at the top of his game as Brian's non-stop, butt-kicking, pulsating, break yourself or die crime-partner, Paulie McDougan. As criminally insane as his character was at times, he was exhilarating to watch! Never a dull moment! Amanda Peet vibes well with Ruffalo. She plays the unpredictable, naive wife of a stone-cold criminal (Ruffalo)who enjoys the security of living in a big house and enrolls her son in private school. In that style of life though, nothing is guaranteed and both become overwhelmed which puts a strain on their marriage. At times he can put a wad of cash in her hand and get by with being gone half the day/night, other times he can't. She starts despising the time and energy he has to invest for the money but can't contribute enough to help keep the bills paid. This puts him between a rock and a hard place when all hell breaks loose! This is just a brief description of the film without giving away the juicy sub-plots, lol. I won't give the ending away either but I'm giving it a 10 because it doesn't get any realistic than this. I know because I've been there. I loved every thrill and emotional moment of this film and I am sure you will too

"What Doesn't Kill You" is a slight but well acted tale of two childhood friends, Paulie and Brian, who struggle to make ends meet in Southern Bostom. The duo turn to crime at an early age, and soon find themselves working full-time for an Irish crime lord who tasks the couple with conducting local robberies. The pay's poor, but things will get better. Won't they?

The film then flashes forward several decades, but only to find Paulie and Brian, now played by actors Ethan Hawke and Mark Ruffalo, still conducting petty robberies. Money's hard to come by, their bosses take a large percentage of their earnings, and the duo begin to grow disillusioned. The rest of the film plays like a small-scale version of "Donnie Brasco", watching as organised crime sucks the life out of hard working foot-soldiers who exist in a kind of despondent stasis, waiting and waiting and hoping and hoping for something better as life itself passes them by.

The film was directed by Brian Goodman, and is reportedly based on his own true-life story growing up in Irish mobs. Amongst the cast, Ruffalo stands out as a word-weary, lethargic guy caught in a cruel loop. It's "Mean Streets" meets the Myth of Sisyphus, Hawke and Ruffalo hoping and toiling for a better tomorrow that doesn't come. The film closes on Ruffalo's son, Ruffalo hoping that his kid escapes this demented vortex. The guy's proud of his kid; maybe he'll make it.

The film's title is interesting. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, so the saying goes, but here survival is akin to a kind of condemnation.

Aesthetically the film's anonymously shot, though one helicopter fly-over of a wintry, snow capped Bostom stands out. As is typical of these films, all female roles are reduced to either eye-candy or screaming wives.

7.9/10 – Worth one viewing.