In the first teaser for director Peter Berg’s new movie about the Boston Marathon bombing, Patriots Day, much of the action (or lack thereof) centered on Mark Wahlberg’s character and the city itself. Deafening explosions, scattered crowds, and the violent aftermath were nowhere to be found in the two-minute clip previewed in October. A month and a half later, the first trailer for the Mark Wahlberg-led film mostly sticks to the teaser’s formula and emphasizes the massive ensemble cast instead of the event’s ghastlier moments.
Of particular note are Kevin Bacon and Melissa Benoist, who play F.B.I. Special Agent Richard DesLauriers and Katherine Russell, respectively. DesLauriers spearheaded the investigation into the Boston Marathon bombings, as well as the subsequent manhunt for suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Russell, was married to Tamerlan and brought in for questioning during the citywide manhunt that resulted in his death and his brother’s capture.
The Patriots Day trailer contrasts the words and actions of Bacon’s DesLauriers and his fellow F.B.I. agents and law enforcement colleagues with Benoist’s Russell. It offers glimpses of the former’s methodical investigation and the latter’s somewhat legally questionable interrogation by the authorities regarding the whereabouts of the Tsarnaev brothers and whether or not they possessed more explosives.
Patriots Days gets a limited U.S. release on December 21, 2016, followed by a wide release on Jan. 13, 2017.
