The film Patriots Day (2016) is a dramatization based on the real events surrounding the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the subsequent manhunt for the perpetrators. It chronicles the terrorist attack that occurred near the marathon's finish line on April 15, 2013, and the four-day investigation and city-wide search that followed, culminating in the capture of the surviving suspect.
While the film's narrative adheres closely to the established timeline of the actual events, it employs dramatic license for storytelling purposes. The central protagonist, Police Sergeant Tommy Saunders (portrayed by Mark Wahlberg), is a fictional composite character created to provide a single, cohesive perspective. He represents the experiences and actions of multiple Boston Police Department officers involved in the crisis. In contrast, many other key figures depicted in the film, such as Police Commissioner Ed Davis, FBI Special Agent Richard DesLauriers, Governor Deval Patrick, and the Tsarnaev brothers, are based on their real-life counterparts. The screenplay was adapted from the non-fiction book Boston Strong: A City's Triumph Over Tragedy by Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge.
The film is best understood as a work of historical fiction that prioritizes factual accuracy in its depiction of the major events, including the bombing itself, the investigation, the murder of MIT officer Sean Collier, the carjacking of Dun Meng, and the final shootout in Watertown. However, specific conversations, character interactions, and the consolidation of multiple police roles into one character are creative choices made to craft a compelling cinematic narrative rather than a purely documentary account.
