What Doesn't Kill You (2008)

Awards

1 nomination
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Users' rating: 6.7

149 votes

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About the movie

Year

2008

Runtime

1 h 40 min

Director

Brian Goodman

Writers

Brian Goodman, Paul T. Murray, Donnie Wahlberg

Plotline

Two childhood friends from South Boston turn to crime as a way to get by, ultimately causing a strain in their personal lives and their friendship.

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Starring

Mark Ruffalo

Ethan Hawke

Amanda Peet

Brian Goodman

Donnie Wahlberg

Main cast

Mark Ruffalo Brian Reilly

Ethan Hawke Paulie McDougan

Amanda Peet Stacy Reilly

Will Lyman Sully

Brian Goodman Pat Kelly

Donnie Wahlberg Detective Moran

Angela Featherstone Katie

Edward Lynch Jackie

Michael Yebba Old Lady

Brian Connolly Sean

Nathaniel Smyth Mark

Oscar Wahlberg Mark

Thomas Regan Paulie McDougan

Jean-Pierre Serret Brian Reilly

George Khoury Delivery Man

Holly Karrol Clark Waitress

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External critics' reviews

With Mark Ruffalo and Ethan Hawke registering personal bests in the performance category as well as playing magnificently and ultraconvincingly off each other, What Doesn't Kill You, a true story that is powerful and completely riveting from beginning to end. more

A tough, authentic street drama born, bred, and shot in the no-spin zone of working-class South Boston. more

The overfamiliarity of What Doesn't Kill You is redeemed by a full-scale performance from Mark Ruffalo. more

It tells a good story well, and in the process quietly says a little something about what it means to look at the American dream from the bottom up. more

Like "The Departed" and "Gone Baby Gone," What Doesn't Kill You is an engrossing, gritty, sharply written and well-acted drama set on the mean streets of South Boston. more

Goodman doesn't allow even a hint of postmodernism or self-consciousness to creep into What Doesn't Kill You, and though the movie's various heists and shootouts are gripping, they aren't especially kinetic or stylish. more

It is worth seeking out for a brutally honest, achingly realistic, and emotionally compelling look at the other side of petty crime Â the slow, painful path to legitimacy. more

Ruffalo's feral vulnerability gives the familiar form a jolt. more

This is a rare case of a movie that improves dramatically as it goes along. more

Goodman's movie tends to limp along. more

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