An attorney for Katherine Russell, the widow of Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev, says a new Hollywood film about the 2013 terrorist attack portrays her inaccurately and unfairly.
Patriots Day, produced by CBS Films and Lionsgate, chronicles the events before and after the 2013 terror attacks at the Boston Marathon that ultimately left six dead and hundreds more wounded.
In the film, Russell (played by Supergirl actress Melissa Benoist) refuses to cooperate with law enforcement when she is brought in for questioning following the attacks.
“It’s just not true,” Russell’s attorney Amato DeLuca told The Associated Press. “I have no objection to them making a movie. … What I quarrel with is the license they take in portraying Katie as someone who did not cooperate and try to save lives. She did everything she could.”
Russell married Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2010. The two lived together in Cambridge, Massachusetts with their daughter and Tsarnaev’s younger brother, Dzhokhar, who joined him in the attack on the Boston Marathon in April 2013.
Former FBI special agent Richard DesLauriers (played in the film by Kevin Bacon) told the AP that he believes the scenes with Russell are accurate.
“I have no reason whatsoever to believe that anything about this aspect of the movie is inaccurate,” he said.
Patriots Day centers on Boston Police Sgt. Tommy Saunders, a composite of several Boston police officers played in the film by Mark Wahlberg.
In an interview earlier this month with Task & Purpose, Wahlberg says the film is meant to remind people how special America’s people, police, and military members truly are.
“I definitely think the film is going to bring people together,” Wahlberg said. “It will give people an added boost and a reminder of what a great country we do have and how amazing people are. People really dedicated their lives to serving our country and our communities, and we need to honor that. The overall purpose of police and military is protect us. It’s an amazing thing, and every chance I get I want to thank them for their service.”
Patriots Day opened this week in Boston, New York and Los Angeles, and expands nationwide on January 13, 2017. The film is directed by Peter Berg and stars Melissa Benoist, Mark Wahlberg, and Michelle Monaghan.
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter @jeromeehudson
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