The Town (2010)
The Town (2010)Warner Brothers Pictures
Theatrical Release: September 17, 2010
Home Release: Release Date: December 17, 2010
Director: Ben Affleck
Rated R
Review by James Klein
I don't usually use these two words in the same sentence: "Ben Affleck" and "great". Those two words usually don't go together. With films on his resume like Bounce, Armageddon, Gigli, and Forces of Nature how can the word “great” be ever used? I really don't feel like naming more of his movies so I'll get to the point: Affleck's new movie The Town in which he co-wrote, directed and stars in is simply…great. If you want a tight, suspenseful, action drama with some great performances than this is the movie for you. The Town delivers the goods.
Affleck plays a troubled thief who is more or less in charge of a small group of hoods who live in the town of Charleston, MA. They all work however for a mob boss named The Florist (the late Pete Postlethwaite) who runs a florist shop but is really in charge of most of the organized crime in the town. When Affleck and his crew rob a bank, they take a female teller hostage (Rebecca Hall) but quickly let her go when the coast becomes clear. When the group decide to follow the teller to make sure she is scared enough to not go to the F.B.I., Affleck takes the job and trails her. Eventually, they fall for one another and complicate matters even more when she finds out who he really is.
What I love about the film is that it takes it's time developing the characters but it never once seems forced or boring. The romance is believable and never cheesy or handled like most films (or like most Affleck films). Playing one of the crew is Jeremy Renner whose almost an exact opposite of his role in last year’s The Hurt Locker. Renner is an actor who seems to become the role he is playing and he is just amazing to watch in this as the hot head but loyal friend to Affleck. Hall is also good as the romantic interest and she is another actress to watch out for (I especially liked her in Vicky Cristina Barcelona). Rounding out the cast is Jon Hamm who plays the F.B.I. agent that wants nothing more than to bring these guys down. All of the performances, including Affleck are stellar.
The action scenes are well directed and are really intense. They are filmed realistically but yet not done with the whole "shaky cam" feel that seems to be the norm now. We can actually see what is happening in front of us. The film doesn't shy away from the violence but never once did it feel like it was over the top or gratuitous.
If I had one complaint, it would be the ending. It could have gone darker and kept with the realistic tone the rest of the movie had. Apparently, the original ending did just that which is a shame that it had changed. No matter, I still highly recommend The Town and I never thought I would say this but I really look forward to seeing more from Ben Affleck.
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