Little more than a middling variation on gangster thematics, better explored in The Sopranos and elsewhere.
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12/10/08
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What Doesn't Kill You (2008)
66
%
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Reviews Counted:32
Fresh:21
Rotten:11
Average Rating:6/10
Theatrical Release:Dec 12, 2008 Limited
Synopsis: For his assured directorial debut, character actor Brian Goodman reaches into his troubled past. WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU tells the tale of two best friends who grew up in South Boston and fell into a... [More]
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Ethan Hawke, Amanda Peet, Will Lyman
Director: Brian Goodman
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Reviews for What Doesn't Kill You
Its modesty and understated detail lend moral weight to the mooks’ deeds, and make the burgeoning self-awareness and -- you guessed it -- redemption of one of them actually feel earned.
12/10/08
Ruffalo draws on his knack for summoning an incongruous brooding bulk from within, and the result almost sucks the air from Hawke's rangy routine of nerves and sinewy smiles.
12/09/08
There's a realism to this story we don't often see in crime dramas, and that can only have come from someone who actually lived through it themselves.
12/09/08
You'd be forgiven for thinking, while watching What Doesn't Kill You, that it was still 2007.
12/07/08
The film is about coming out the other side and using your newfound strength to change.
12/05/08
A tough, authentic street drama born, bred, and shot in the no-spin zone of working-class South Boston.
12/03/08
Top CriticNo gold star for originality, but nicely acted crime tale.
11/30/08
The story is generic and uncompelling, coming across as just another gritty drama about a major city's criminal underbelly.
09/20/08
We've all seen this film before -- two hoodlum friends from the tough, violent streets of South Boston trying to cope with the lure of easy money and the offsetting threat of jail time -- but we've never seen it this well done.
09/15/08
Top CriticGoodman's directing shows a sure hand at the Irish Goodfellas genre, and his actors (including Goodman himself) rally to give the picture plenty of credibility.
09/15/08
A fine example of traditional American storytelling lined with full-bodied performances, pic is especially notable for giving Mark Ruffalo the kind of complete role this subtle, instinctive actor has long deserved yet too seldom gets.
09/15/08
Top CriticLatest News for What Doesn't Kill You
December 09, 2008:
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