MOVIE REVIEW: THE TOWN

Ben Affleck has had a roller coaster of a career. For every great movie he is a part of, it seems that he has three or four disasters. But there is hope for Affleck. In 1998, he won an Oscar for Best Screenplay for Good Will Hunting, in which he also had a supporting role in, and that was the first time he really showed his talent on and off screen. Since then, he has been in more flops rather than hits, but when he is part of a good movie, he really gives a great performance. In 2007 I was surprised to hear that he would be directing his brother in Gone Baby Gone. I rolled my eyes thinking it would be some ridiculous film that he just put his brother in to help him out, but it turned out to be an amazing film and I was curious to see if he would be a one hit wonder kind of director or if he was the real deal.

His latest film is The Town, in which he not only stars in, but directs and writes as well. The film takes place in Charlestown, the leading city for bank robberies in the world. Affleck and Jeremy Renner play Doug and James, who lead a group of bank robbers, who are forced to take a hostage during their latest heist. Fearing she may know something about them, Doug decides to follow her around to make sure their in the clear, but after an accidental meeting, the two become romantically involved. Doug must now juggle his relationship with her, while hiding the fact about what he really does and his responsibility for her abduction and trying to avoid a federal agent (Jon Hamm), who is hot on their trail.

Affleck hits a home run in every area of this film. The cast does a tremendous job turning these characters into people that your not just watching, but becoming attached to as you watch. Most of the characters in the film are not just dealing with agents hunting them down or the fear of getting kidnapped again, but self confliction. Affleck's character is someone who does bad things, but also has a good side to him, so you want to see him redeem himself, you want to see him make the great escape in the end and he wants the same thing for himself. He wants to put it all behind him and walk away.

Rebecca Hall plays Claire, the girl who was taken hostage and has now fallen in love with Doug. When she finds out that Doug is responsible for the bank robberies and the kidnapping, she doesn't throw him under the bus immediately. Despite all he has done, she still sees the potential in him. Does she turn him in or turn and run away with him. Despite all he has done, she can't decide if she wants to be with him or against him.

Jon Hamm and Jeremy Renner both deal with self assurance rather than confliction. Hamm wants to catch this crew no matter what the cost. He puts his own life on the line just to do so. Renner's character has an obsession with crime. The more hits they make, the more he wants to do. If he beats someones face, he wants them to know it was him, he doesn't care about the consequences, much less care about them. I will be highly surprised if there isn't at least one person from this cast who doesn't get nominated for an Oscar.

Next is the story. It's always funny how you end up cheering for these terrible guys who are robbing banks, killing innocent people and are smuggling drugs, while the officers and agents are just trying to protect the city. If it were to happen in the real world, we would lose sleep at night until these guys were caught. The film isn't just a heist film, it's a film about romance, revenge and redemption. He does a great job of blending the four together.


The other thing I was really impressed with was the action sequences. Had this been a Michael Bay film, there would have been fifty huge car explosions and blood splattering gun fights. The sequences in this film are simple but effective. It has one of the better car chases I have seen in years and gun fights that are along the lines quality wise as Heat.

Affleck has found his true talent I believe. He has two solid films under his belt now. The Town is one of the year's best films and I give it a ten out of ten.