Whether it's being the prime location of a Martin Scorsese film or the cinematic backdrop for the outstanding Dennis Lehane novels, Boston has experienced a recent resurgence as a viable and striking setting for films. It only makes sense for Brian Goodman, a relatively unknown working actor from the area, to set What Doesn't Kill You in his hometown, a film that he wrote, directed and produced.

Goodman makes a point of saying in the supplements that the film is not a documentary, it is a true story, based on his experiences and recollections. In the film, Brian (Mark Ruffalo, Zodiac) and Paul (Ethan Hawke, Before Sunrise) are best friends who have known each other for years and have worked for Boston crime boss Pat Kelly (Goodman) since they were kids. Brian finds himself using drugs more and more as most addicts do, impacting his marriage with Stacy (Amanda Peet, Syriana). It becomes so bad that Brian is shot by a mysterious perpetrator, and the wounds are so serious that one of the bullets is left in by the doctors. Brian is so in need of pain medication more as an addict than as a recovering gunshot victim, and leaves the hospital and walks to a crack house, still in his hospital gown. It takes getting caught with Paulie and being sentenced to five years in prison for Brian to clean his act up. The boys see Pat in jail and Pat suggests that they sign up for Alcoholics Anonymous meetings as a way to continue their business inside, but Brian keeps an open ear for the meetings, and some of what's said there eventually grabs hold with him. When he gets out, Brian stays clean and tries to maintain a clean life on the outside, and things are hard, as Brian and Stacy find themselves almost getting their heat turned off and Brian's jobs simply don't make enough money for the family. Paul gets out of jail shortly after and finds Brian in a tough circumstance, and when he proposes a tempting offer to Brian, Brian's got some tough decisions to make.

As a whole, it seems to be easy to see why the film might not have succeeded the way it could have. On one hand, you've got the Boston crime aspect of the film, the sort of Before the Devil Knows You're Dead meets Mystic River type of thing going on, the trailers and marketing material never let onto what the real story is, perhaps wanting to show you the "gritty crime drama" angle and take you money. It's sad because the story really is one of addiction and recovery, and it deserves greater attention. Goodman might have done some bad things in his past and acknowledges this, but both his flawed past and his encouraging rehabilitation are things that are engrossing. Ruffalo, who normally plays a relatively good guy in most of his films, takes on this role as a change of pace and does very well with it. It's very easy to set a film in Boston and have non-Bostonians do "pahk the cah in Hahvahd yahd" accents for 90 minutes, but Ruffalo's ability to take on Goodman's persona in the role is fascinating to watch, and with the supporting roles of Hawke and Peet, the emotional authenticity far outweighs any novelty of watching these Hollywood types use an inflection.

Ultimately, what sells the story is the guy who's most familiar with it and, for our purposes, is telling the story to you. Goodman's story shows the startling ease of it all. Brian and Paul after all start with a simple grab of cigarettes to make money, and find Pat, who offers him the promise of more. Before you know it, they are in their thirties, and Brian has a family. Through a deal, Brian and Paul meet the guy who would become Brian's dealer (played, oddly enough, by Goodman's son), and through that, the effects of Brian's behavior on Stacy and his family follow. Thankfully Goodman has seen what being on drugs and alcohol has done to him and those around him, and he takes things one day at a time. His story, his life, are worth your time.

Sony presents What Doesn't Kill You in 2.35:1 1080p high definition glory, using their customary AVC MPEG-4 codec. Cinematographer Chris Norr (One Last Thing...) shoots many scenes handheld to keep things feeling gritty, but in high definition the film looks quite good. Blacks are deep and maintain a solid contrast through the film, and while the film lacks any color palette to speak of, the color in things like Stacy's coat is replicated accurately without over saturation. Wider shots, like the opening sequence which flies over Boston, or when Brian gets shot outside the bar, maintain an excellent level of depth and detail and sport a multidimensional look to them. There are occasional bouts of image softness, but otherwise the film looks better than I was expecting.

A Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround track is the only option. Again, if you are expecting crime drama, with lots of gunfire and pumping bass or something, you might be disappointed, as the film is dialogue-driven and largely muted in its action. However, during the early sequence, the gunfire is crisp and clean, and the subwoofer engages when it has to. The dialogue that carries the film is strong and requires little (if any) user adjustment, even as you keep up with the Bahston accents and softer vocal tones. Directional effects are minimal and when speaker panning occurs, it's effective, and the overall sonic result for the film is straightforward and efficient.

Goodman and his co-writer Donnie Wahlberg (Band of Brothers) team up for a commentary on the film. Goodman has known Wahlberg since the two worked together (with Peet) on the 1998 film Southie, and their banter is very conversational. Their friendship is explained a little more, to the point where Goodman explains why he calls Donnie "Jack." While Wahlberg talks about the film's events and the story themes, Goodman covers things from the more personal angle, how a particular scene effected him. Goodman also talks about some biographical information that the supplements (or film) might not have covered, and throws in a quick production tidbit or two. There's not a lot of valuable information to be gained, but it's a decent track. Following that, "Makes You Stronger" (18:55) is the making-of look at the film, with interviews and thoughts from Goodman, Ruffalo and Wahlberg, to name a few. Wahlberg discusses meeting up with Goodman and how the two worked together, and the cast toss their two cents in with thoughts and opinions on Goodman and his story, and how he worked as a director. This is your standard look at production. Thirteen deleted and alternate scenes follow (15:35), many of them are forgettable, though there are others which help show Brian leaning on his AA sponsor a bit more than the final cut does. Trailers for seven Sony productions follow, except for (oddly enough) this film. Wrapping up the disc is its BD-Live enabling, though there is no available content as of this writing.

Many first-time screenwriters go with the time-honored advice of writing what they know about most. Brian Goodman wrote about crime, addiction and recovery because he was familiar with them, and What Doesn't Kill You tells that story both in the impact on the main subject and those around him the most. It does this effectively with excellent performances by the cast and capable direction by the first-timer. Technically the disc is solid and the supplements are average, so if you're in the mood for a good story, What Doesn't Kill You should fit the bill.