Review of The Town

The Town
Ben Afleck
Released: September 17th, 2010

When I walked in the packed theatre several weeks ago with my friends to see "The Town", based on the trailer I was expecting a massive thriller, with a multilayered plot with plot twists opening up left and right. What I got was in many ways, even better. It is more than a bank job movie, more than a tale of growing up and moving on, and more than a love story. "The Town" is all three and much, much more.

The plot focuses on an area of Boston, known as Charlestown (known as the Town), where crime and violence are a part of every day life, and the family business in the neighborhood is more often than not, bank robbery. Ben Afleck plays Doug MaCray, leader of a group of four bank robbers that include actors Jeremy Renner, Owen Burke, and Slaine, all born and raised in Charlestown. Afleck wants to escape the Town, and go out on one last big job, and leave Boston in his rearview mirror. One aspect of the film that seems forced has to do with the aforementioned device. Afleck's partners in crime are against his leaving, thinking he will be betraying his past and where he was from. This falls under the category of cliche' and most of the time is unnecessary and predictable.

There is an aspect of the storyline that provides the lion's share of tension, and that is Afleck's relationship with Rebecca Hall's character, Claire Keesey. Ben Afleck meets Rebecca Hall initally when he and gang of three fellow thieves force her to open the vault of her bank and take her hostage. Eventually she is left unharmed on a small beach. The next time they meet, Afleck intentionally seeks her out in a laundromat, to make sure she doesn't know any information she might share with the FBI.

Throughout the film, we observe Afleck's struggle with keeping his relationship under wraps from his mates, and trying to plan his last heist and how he will escape the Town. This complicated situation provides more "edge of your seat" moments than the shoot out scenes and FBI investigations put together. An example of this is when Jeremy Renner's character, James Coughlin stumbles upon Afleck and Hall out to lunch. During the entire scene, the audience is watching to see if Hall discover's the Fighting Irish tatoo on Renner's neck, the only defining mark she could identify from the robbers. Afleck cleverly hides the tatoo from Hall's view when his friend is departing. I distincly remember holding my breath during this high energy scene.

The majority of the characters in "The Town" can also be described as cliche's, although they are portrayed fantastically and expertly. The lead FBI agent, played by John Hamm can be described as just that, his life seems totally consumed by being a federal agent. It wouldn't surprise me to learn he only knows how to  sleep, eat, and investigate robberies. Jeremy Renner portrays James Coughlin, the member of Afleck's crew who is overly violent and always violent. We see on several accounts how he assault people who even slightly cross him.

Pete Postlethwaite assumes the role of the Town's boss, Fergie Colm, who doles out the details and jobs to those willing to commit the crimes. He assumes the guise of a stereotypical mobster, represented by when he doesn't allow Afleck to get out of the Town when he wants to. He threatens him, and forces Afleck to stick to the same lifestyle. While the aforementioned characters may be cliche's, each and every one was portrayed effortlessly and was solidly believable. The relationship between Afleck and Hall in the film is shown well and the audience has no trouble believing that these two people are actually in love.

In terms of special effects, and high action scenes, "The Town" delivers. The chase scenes are impeccable down to the last detail, and feature vans and jeeps evading hordes of police cars through experly executed precision and planning. I found my jaw dropping in excitement on multiple occasions. One particular moment was when Afleck and his gang were seemingly cornered by the Boston police, and right before it might all be over, another member of the group appears from an alley with another car. The robbers ditch the van, which they previously coated with gasoline, jump in the Jeep, and toss a match into the van. The vehicle immediately lights up brilliantly, and the crew speeds away in the old school Cherokee, and narrowly avoid capture.

Ben Afleck directed this film, and he accomplished his goal in my opinion. He set out to tell the story of Charlestown, and the people who live there. You get a sense of family among these people throughout the movie, and you are rooting for them to escape capture from the FBI. Afleck wanted to tell a multi layered story, and he did. The FBI is involved, the Town is involved, robbery is involved, love is involved, deception is involved. This was a superbly entertaining film, and when that happens, a director must be happy.

When all is said and done,  "The Town" is a spectacular and exciting film, and leaves little to be desired. I walked in the theatre expecting a thriller with a major plot twist. I walked out entirely satisfied, but not because I got what I wanted. I got more than I wanted, the film entertained me for the whole 2 hours and change, rarely lagged in pacing, and satisfied my appetite for thrill, tension, and excitement. I give the film 3 and a half out of four stars. In the end, you can't ask for much from a movie like this. Job well done, Mr. Afleck.