The keyword term "patriots day director" functions as a noun phrase. Its primary purpose is to identify a specific individual or role, making it a substantive element within a sentence.
To break it down grammatically, "Patriots Day" acts as a proper noun, specifically a compound proper noun referring to the film itself. When placed before "director," it modifies "director" to specify which director is being discussed. However, the entire construct "Patriots Day director" collectively refers to the person who directed the film "Patriots Day." In this construction, "director" is the head noun, and "Patriots Day" serves as an attributive noun (or part of a compound noun phrase) modifying it, resulting in a complete noun phrase.
Therefore, in the context of an article, "patriots day director" would function as the subject, object, or complement of a verb, representing the individual who held that specific directorial role for the film "Patriots Day."
