What Doesn't Kill You is a 2008 American crime drama loosely based on the true life story of the film's director Brian Goodman,[1] detailing his own exploits involved with South Boston's Irish Mob.[2] Starring Ethan Hawke and Mark Ruffalo, it premiered at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival,[3] and was released on a very small scale in December 2008 due to the collapse of its distributor Yari Film Group.[4] The title alludes to the Nietzsche quote Was mich nicht umbringt, macht mich stärker (What does not kill me makes me stronger).
| What Doesn't Kill You | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Brian Goodman |
| Screenplay by | Donnie Wahlberg Brian Goodman Paul T. Murray |
| Produced by | Marc Frydman Rod Lurie Bob Yari |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Chris Norr |
| Edited by | Robert Hoffman |
| Music by | Alex Wurman |
Production companies | Battleplan Productions Bob Yari Productions |
| Distributed by | Yari Film Group Releasing |
Release date |
|
Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Premise
editHawke and Ruffalo play childhood friends Paulie and Brian, who are forced to survive on the tough streets of South Boston through a life of petty thievery. They join a local gang of criminals, but Brian finds it hard to reconcile his work and friendship with Paulie and his relationship with his wife (Amanda Peet) and sons.
Cast
edit- Mark Ruffalo as Brian Reilly
- Ethan Hawke as Paulie McDougan
- Amanda Peet as Stacy Reilly
- Lenny Clarke as Hogie
- Will Lyman as Sully
- Brian Goodman as Pat Kelly
- Donnie Wahlberg as Detective Moran
- Angela Featherstone as Katie
- Lindsey McKeon as Nicole
Reception
editOn Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 65% based on 34 reviews.[5] On Metacritic the film has a score of 71 out of 100 based on reviews from 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[6]
References
edit- ^ "Exclusive: Brian Goodman Faces What Doesn't Kill You". comingsoon.net. 10 December 2008. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
- ^ "What Doesn't Kill You Blurb by Dave Wedge". BostonHerald.com. 26 April 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
- ^ "Toronto Film Festival lineup 2008". Variety. 19 August 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2009.
- ^ Fleming, Michael (12 December 2008). "Bob Yari crashes into Chapter 11". Variety. Retrieved 19 October 2009.
- ^ "What Doesn't Kill You Movie". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
- ^ "What Doesn't Kill You Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
