The 2016 film Patriots Day is a dramatization based on the true events of the Boston Marathon bombing on April 15, 2013, and the subsequent city-wide manhunt for the perpetrators. It reconstructs the timeline of the terrorist attack and the law enforcement response, drawing from extensive research, news reports, and the non-fiction book Boston Strong: A City's Triumph Over Tragedy.
While the film's depiction of the bombing, the investigation, the murder of MIT Officer Sean Collier, the carjacking of Dun Meng, and the Watertown shootout is largely faithful to the factual record, it employs a common cinematic device: the composite character. The main protagonist, Sergeant Tommy Saunders (played by Mark Wahlberg), is not a real individual but was created to represent the collective experiences of multiple Boston police officers who were on the ground during the crisis. In contrast, many other figures, including Police Commissioner Ed Davis, FBI Special Agent Richard DesLauriers, and Watertown Sergeant Jeffrey Pugliese, are based directly on their real-life counterparts.
The film's narrative is factually grounded in its portrayal of the core events and key individuals involved in the tragedy and its aftermath. The creative license taken, primarily through the use of a composite protagonist, serves to streamline the complex, multi-faceted investigation into a more accessible cinematic format. The production's goal was to capture the authentic spirit and resilience of the community while honoring the victims and first responders, even while altering specific character details for dramatic purposes.
