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The Town
Boston-set romantic thriller starring and directed by Ben Affleck. Based on the novel by Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan.
Doug (Affleck) is an unrepentant criminal, the de facto leader of a group of ruthless bank robbers who pride themselves in stealing what they want and getting out clean. A loner, Doug never has to fear losing anyone close to him until his gang's latest job, when they briefly took a hostage – bank manager, Claire (Rebecca Hall, Vicky Cristina Barcelona). Let her go unharmed, Claire is nervously aware that the robbers know her name and where she lives. She lets her guard down when she meets an unassuming fellow named Doug, not realising that he is the same man who only days earlier had terrorised her.
Starring Ben Affleck, Blake Lively, Chris Cooper, Jon Hamm, Rebecca Hall, Jeremy Renner
Directed by Ben Affleck ('Gone Baby Gone')
Written by Ben Affleck, Peter Craig, Sheldon Turner (based on the novel by 'Prince of Thieves' by Chuck Hogan)
Thriller, Romance, Drama, Crime | 2hr 5mins | Rated (TBC) | Origin: USA
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The Talk
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Flicks review
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Ben Affleck’s second feature as a director is this crime-thriller-romance, in which a veteran crook re-evaluates life after falling for a female bank teller. Whilst frequently absorbing, however, The Town is best when focusing on robbing rather than knobbing.
The title refers to Charlestown, Boston (Affleck’s hometown). He plays the central character, a crim-with-a-conscience who leads his motley crew as they plunder banks and armoured vans while hidden under two-dollar-shop Halloween masks (a brilliant, creepy touch). These sequences recall the stylistic panache of The Dark Knight, even down to the percussive soundtrack. In fact, The Town is absorbing whenever the bad guys are up to no good. But whenever the film shifts gear into a romantic story of redemption – the music turns a bit Shawshank at times – it’s a bit of a yawn.
The ensemble cast is a mixed bag, ranging from the Oscar-baiting Jeremy Renner as a ticking bomb of a psycho, to the out-of-place performance of Mad Men’s John Hamm as an FBI agent. In between them, we have Gossip Girl’s Blake Lively playing against type as a trashy slapper, and then Frost/Nixon’s Rebecca Hall, who does her best with the thankless task of looking miserable (for more on this recent trend – see Carey Mulligan’s simpering in Wall Street 2).
And then there’s Affleck. For someone with such obvious directing chops, it’s something of a mystery as to why he decided to step in front of the camera. For all the effort to remain authentic to the straight-up spirit of Charlestown, his unavoidable Affleck-ness can’t be avoided. Is the one-time squeeze of J-Lo with perfect teeth believable as a down-on-his-luck hoodlum from Bahstan? Every time there was an emotional moment featuring his character, one can’t help but imagine Affleck saying “get a close up on me, and push in, and cut!”
For all that, however, The Town is a solid thriller and I would not underestimate Ben the helmer, whose devotion to his hometown and thoughtful approach offers more than your average Friday night fare.
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10 reviews
Press Reviews
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Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Everything is here. It's an effective thriller, he (Affleck) works closely with actors, he has a feel for pacing. Yet I persist in finding chases and gun battles curiously boring.
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Christchurch Press (James Croot)
While by no means faultless, The Town is a cut above the average crime drama.
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Empire (UK)
The Town is that rare beast, a grown-up genre flick, chock-full of compelling character dynamics and a clutch of pitch-perfect performances.
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Hollywood Reporter
Affleck gets the tribalism of Boston's traditionally Irish-American enclaves; it's a defining force in his character's lives. But for all their well-played grit, those characters resolutely remain types, and for all the well-choreographed action, the outcome doesn't matter nearly as much as it should.
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Los Angeles Times
A fast-paced, character-driven heist movie that combines robberies with romance and solidifies Affleck's reputation as an actor with a genuine gift for directing.
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New York Daily News
Affleck keeps the film as fluid as the "Mystic River," and never forgets that Renner is his ace in the hole. The "Hurt Locker" star charges up every scene he's in with feral power, and is rewarded with one of the most exciting sequences seen in any action movie this decade.
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New York Times
A solid, minor entry in the annals of Boston crime drama. Not as florid as "The Departed" or as sadly soulful as "The Friends of Eddie Coyle" - or even as sticky and gamy as "Gone Baby Gone," Mr. Affleck's previous film.
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Variety (USA)
The behind-the-camera talent Ben Affleck displayed so bracingly in "Gone Baby Gone" is confirmed, if not significantly advanced, in The Town. Again proving a fine director of actors (this time with himself in a starring role), Affleck delivers another potent, serious-minded slice of pulp set on Boston's meanest streets, where loyalty among thieves runs thicker than blood.
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