What Doesn't Kill You

What Doesn't Kill You follows Paulie and Brian, two friends who grew up together in South Boston and drifted into crime early, starting with small errands and armed robberies as teenagers. As adults they take on bigger jobs for local criminals, and Brian tries to balance his marriage and his role as a father against his loyalty to Paulie and the pull of the streets. A five-year prison term changes both men, but their reunion puts them in front of an opportunity that could either secure their futures or undo everything.

Brian Goodman directed the film, which was released in 2008 and is the first feature he directed, followed years later by Black Butterfly and Last Seen Alive. Goodman also appears among the cast as Pat Kelly. Ethan Hawke plays Paulie and Mark Ruffalo plays Brian, with Amanda Peet as Stacy Reilly, Donnie Wahlberg as Detective Moran, and Will Lyman as Sully. Bob Yari, Rod Lurie and Marc Frydman produced the film, which runs about 100 minutes and was made in the United States.

On IMDb the film has a critics' rating of 6 out of 10 from 35 reviews, and on TMDB it holds a 6 out of 10 from 232 votes, so professional and general viewers landed in much the same place, a middling but consistent reception.