Amazon.com Mark Ruffalo is terrific in What Doesn't Kill You as a South Boston career criminal who since his early teens has done "errands" for the neighborhood crimelord and never considered any other way of making a living. It's the sort of performance wherein the actor so wholly inhabits the character that his every glance, stride, or hesitation is a glimpse into the guy's soul, even as the guy is a person of modest intelligence not given to complex self-expression. That's fascinating to watch (and this may be Ruffalo's career-best work), but it nudges us toward recognizing the film's limitations as well as its core strength. What Doesn't Kill You is an actors' movie; Brian Goodman, its co-writer and first-time director, is himself an actor and plays the gang boss. Virtually every scene is an occasion for actors to conspire in creating a believable texture of life going on. The cast all repay watching, especially Ethan Hawke as Ruffalo's lifelong pal and Amanda Peet as the long-suffering wife who seems to have stepped right out of a Southie kitchen. But there's only the barest outline of a screenplay. We get what every scene is supposed to be about, but they're mostly pieces of things, indications rather than scenes that flow and build; it's a little like seeing a feature-length compression of an entire season of The Wire. Although a foreword announces that "the story you are about to see is true," it's also a pretty familiar story as crime movies go. So, as a genre entry, What Doesn't Kill You disappoints, and its flashback structure--after an opening armored-car robbery scene heavy with dire portent--proves to be a bit of a cheat. Yet for all its shortcomings, the film compels sympathy, especially when it finally locates its eminently human heart during the final half-hour. --Richard T. Jameson Product Description Ethan Hawke and Mark Ruffalo lead an all-star cast in this drama about a pair of childhood friends from the gritty streets of South Boston that turn to crime as a way to get by, ultimately causing a strain in their personal lives and their friendship. Also starring Donnie Wahlberg, Amanda Peet and Brian Goodman.ASIN: B001T6KW4SVSKU: HBSV.B001T6KW4S.GCondition: GoodAuthor/Artist:Mark Ruffalo|Ethan Hawke|Amanda Peet|Will Lyman|Brian Goodman|Donnie Wahlberg|Angela Featherstone|Edward Lynch|Mike Yebba|Brian Connolly|Nathaniel Smyth|Oscar Wahlberg|Thomas Regan|Jean JP' Serret|George Khoury|Holly Clark|Leif Riddell|Lenny Clarke|John Giannone|Michael Balcanoff|Richard Lane Jr.|John Fiore|Joseph Bavis|Katelyn Cahill|Richard Skinner|Dennis Lynch|Michael Testone|T. Ferguson|Brienne De Beau|Richard Italiano Jr.|Will Lebow|Danny Naten|Bo Cleary|Kevin McCormick|Dylan Kelley|Lindsey McKeon|Bates Wilder|Edward Ordway|Kelly Holleman|Ryan Mahoney|Kristen Mastroianni-Pascucci|Vic Clay|Thomas Kemp|Robert Kelly|Mark Goodman|Steve Sweeney|Brian Scannell|Thomas Olson|Mandy Olsen|Ally Flaherty|Christopher Connolly|Marc Frydman|Rod Lurie|Bob Yari|Battleplan Productions, Inc.; Bob Yari ProductionsBinding: DvdNote: Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown. Condition Notes: Dvd comes in original case and case has original artwork. Disc may have some minor scratches but is in good condition.Case may have some general wear. Be sure check out thousands of our other dvds on this platform.
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