What Doesn’t Kill You – Review

It’s Christmas time. Men mask up and load guns as “The story you are about to see is true” flashes on the screen. Paulie McDougan (Hawke) and Brian Reilly (Ruffalo) don burglar masks while readying their pistols. Their male getaway driver dresses like a grandmother and the men head to the car to get in close to an armored truck.

The hit is on as Paulie and Brian dive out and take the guards to the ground. So far, so good. The money is in sight, and guards are under control. But then… police out of nowhere! Paulie does the brave thing and charges straight at the cops, shooting. Brian reminisces about the streets, always saying not to hit armored trucks. Oops.

Time to flashback. Irish gangster Pat Kelly (Goodman) runs a crew of thieves and heisters of goods. They may lend money too, just don’t miss a payment. As kids, Brian and Paulie take a quick job from Pat and then witness him murder another hoodlum over an unpaid debt, however they don’t flinch. 15 years later, the men are deep in the money collecting business.

What Doesn’t Kill You is a dramatic tale of crime and life, with Brian balancing his family time and wife Stacy (Peet) and child with his gritty and often violent side that makes money. With Brian and the more aggressive Paulie being lifelong thugs, their “jobs” are across the board criminal. Even poodles may be involved. As the men decide that they need to start making their own bread, will they keep it together or will life go off the rails? Just remember to kick bills up to the bosses, right?

As this is based on the two writers’ (one of which is also the director) lives, it probably has plenty of authenticity, even if embellishments hit the Hollywood script. It is an atmospheric crime story and stocked up with good actors. It is not Earth shattering, however it’s still pretty okay for a realistic crime drama.