The Town

John Chard 5/16/2024 3:22:21PM 8.4

You know people get up everyday, tell themselves something's gonna change their lives. The Town is Charlestown, Boston, a place where crime is a way of life. Following a bank robbery, professional thief Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) has to keep a watch on bank manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) because after using her as hostage leverage during escape from the heist, she is the only witness who could possibly identify his gang. But once the two meet they start to fall for each other, forcing MacRay to re-evaluate his life in Charlestown. It's a re-evaluation that will upset a lot of people close to him and the gangster boss who hires him, and all this at a time when FBI agent Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm) is closing in on the gang. One of the most startling things about Ben Affleck's second film as director is that even with the conventional plot, and the formulaic characters, it's still an exhilarating and fresh picture. With Affleck comfortable in his Boston surroundings, it's evident that he and the team went for authenticity, something which in the main they achieve. Sure there's the odd implausible moments, they are - like it or not - cops and robbers staples, but "The Town" is not your standard run of the mill actioner. It is, for want of pigeon holing, a modern day noir, resplendent with bleak mood and well oiled characters. Based on Chuck Hogan's novel "Prince of Thieves", pic follows the formula of a rotten town with rotten people doing their best or worst to live and get by. Into the pot comes the bad guy who meets a good woman who wants to leave his crappy life and crappy home behind. So far so well trodden path, then, but this is not a giant gangland operation, like, say, "The Departed" or "The Godfather" et al, this is a small neighbourhood setting, with a small group of everyday dressed young men. It's one of the reasons why Affleck's film feels so very authentic. Helping to exude the naturalistic and human feel of the drama is that Affleck doesn't overdo his action sections, yet they are terrific sections for sure. This is not Tony Scott/Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer action for popcorn excess. From the electric kick-start of the first heist, to the mid-section car chase - and to the knock out coup de grâce set in motion at Red Sox Stadium - Affleck shows great skill as a crafter of action - aided superbly by Dylan Tichenor's energised editing. Other violence is swift and to the point, the director knowing not to dwell too long on vicious passages in the narrative, thus keeping his characters free of caricatures. Mind, he is thankful to the great cast assembled for his picture, for this is very much an actors piece. Well written without flabby periods of talk for talk sake, The Town provides proper drama for proper actors - and that includes the director himself. Jeremy Renner is quickly turning into the go to guy for edginess, here as MacRay's best pal, Jem, he deals out a frightening loose cannon turn. Chris Cooper and Pete Postlethwaite have small roles, but both impact hard on proceedings, both memorable and both adding a touch of classy know how. Hamm arguably has the hardest role, for as FBI Agent Frawley he has to carry on his own the other plot thread that is the investigation. Not just that, but the film lends itself to one which dares you to root for the bad guys, it's a tough ask of the "Mad Men" actor but he nails it, with one two-fold scene in a bar, as he grills MacRay's ex, Krista (Blake Lively heartfelt and believable), particularly offering a glimpse of what a good actor he can be. Ultimately the main load has to be carried by Affleck and Hall as the central doomed lovers. There is death and misery every where in Charlestown - and for the protagonists of the story, including Doug & Claire. Their relationship offers hope, a beacon of hope in a murky world, but it's a relationship founded on black secrets and built around falsehoods. That Affleck & Hall draw us in with charm and acting gravitas further serves notice as to why The Town is top draw stuff. Hardships, hard decisions and hard characters come alive in The Town, a great modern day drama that's showing "Gone Baby Gone" was no fluke, this lad Affleck really is some director. 9/10

CinemaSerf 6/23/2026 7:50:02AM 8.4

There is something almost Dickensian about the Boston community in which "Doug" (Ben Affleck) and "Coughlin" (Jeremy Renner) live. They are robbers, bank robbers, and fairly successful and audacious ones at that and the rules of their turf are that nobody works with the law. One of their raids sees them take bank manager "Claire" (Rebecca Hall) hostage for a short time before releasing her unharmed. Then, realising that she, too, is a local gal "Doug" decides to make contact with her - ostensibly to establish that she remembers nothing from the heist that she can pass on to pursuing FBI man "Frawley" (John Hamm). As he wheedles his way into her affections, he begins to fall for her as well as to learn that she has been slightly selective about the information she has shared with the Feds. Up until now, he's had an on/off relationship with the usually sozzled sister of his best pal (Blake Lively) but now he is feeling the sensation of actual love and so "Doug" decides it is time to leave and start a new life elsewhere. He has to keep his relationship secret for as long as he can, though, for his colleagues are not the most trusting of folks and the determined "Frawley" has mobilised a small army to identify and track down the gang. On the face of it, this is just another routine film with guys in masks trying not to kill anyone as they acquire then launder thousands of dollars through casinos and drug deals. This, though, has more by way characterisations for us to get our teeth into than most and there is a welcome sense of the unpredictable as the story follows then deviates from this genre's more standard threads. It's also quite darkly comedic at times, and there is a powerful dynamic on display between Affleck and the on-form Renner and between him and a Hall who delivers more than the loved-up damsel to her role. It's steadily paced for a couple of hours and the tension of the cat and mouse game is maintained right up until a denouement that I found refreshingly apt. This is a much more imaginatively crafted thriller that complements the plentiful action with some food for the brain, too - and Affleck shows he has some skill behind the camera as he mobilises an engaging ensemble cast to help keep us guessing.

Andres Gomez 6/23/2021 3:57:21PM 8.4

Good movie with good cast. No new plot but well performed and entertaining.