The Town

For the next jewel in the crown of his new career, ‘Smoking Aces’ actor turned ‘Gone Baby Gone’ director Ben Affleck has gone for the holy trinity: co-writing, directing and acting in his latest film ‘The Town’. This is clearly no mean feat: there can only be so many Clint Eastwood’s in Holywood. It is certainly a risk for Affleck who recently lost a little of his credibility: has only recently got back a credible reputation and for that reason this reviewer squarely set his sights, possibly unfairly, on Affleck and what he brings to the movie.

As with ‘Gone Baby Gone’, ‘The Town’ is set in Boston, this time in the area of Charlestown, which we are told produces more bank robbers and criminals than anywhere else. It is difficult to see how Affleck feels about his home turf of Massachusetts; on the one hand it seems to inspire a lot of his films, but on the other hand he never shows a flattering side to it. In ‘The Town’ Affleck plays Doug MacRay, a local hero who, along with his best friend Jem, played by Jeremy Renner, and two other nameless crooks, robs banks and robs them very well. The opening scene shows the group skilfully and professionally steal from a bank in the heart of Boston. They wear frightening masks, wield heavy-duty artillery, microwave security tapes and bleach all traces of their DNA; these guys know what they are doing.  But when one of the bank workers pushes the silent alarm, the crew are forced to improvise and take bank manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) as a hostage. This leaves her as a loose end: Doug volunteers to execute some surveillance of her to see if she tells the cops anything. The watching soon turns into a conversation and then a relationship, which has Doug questioning whether he has to stay in Charlestown or try and break out again.

The cast of the film is excellent with each actor pulling their own weight. The two already well established actors, Affleck and Hall, give great performances; Hall does a great American accent while Affleck shows he suits the role of the rugged criminal more than the smooth faced romcom lead. New actors Jeremy Renner and Blake Lively hold their own with Renner expertly plays an unhinged thug while Livley goes through an especially great transformation in her move to the big screen. From the glamorous upper east sider Serena van der Woodsen in the hit American show ‘Gossip Girl’, Blake Lively is transformed into the cheap Krista Coughlin; a transformation that is complete in making her look thoroughly undesirable. There are of course bad guys in the film, and being a crime film they appear on both sides of the law. There is the sinister florist, Pete Postlethwaite, who runs the crime racket in Charlestown, and ‘Mad Men’s’ Jon Hamm playing FBI agent Andrew Fawley. Both men show little compassion, which instantly, and unsubtly, draws the audience into backing Doug.

As this is a crime movie there is enough excellently executed chase scenes and gun fights to break up the drama between Affleck and Hall. However, on top of this, what makes this film stand out is the intimate, almost insider knowledge, Affleck has for this area of Boston; he knows why these men do what they do and how they get roped into it. He understnads how these are the type of men whose fathers were also been criminals and toast to friends who are in prison. He also takes time to show why none of these men have any money after a $90 grand bank raid. Little was I aware of that of course this money can’t be saved or hidden away, but must instead be squandered quickly on gambling, drugs and girls so that the police can’t trace anything. It is true the story isn’t completely original, but having the heart and insight of Affleck puts the film above the crime dramas Guy Ritchie usually throws out there. The heart also shows Affleck’s true feelings to Boston, which is one of love and acceptance of both its good and bad qualities.

Saying all this there are some aspects of the film that some members of the audience may find difficult to swallow. The plot is frankly nothing we haven’t seen before and lacks a lot of character development for the more minor characters. Also some people might not feel that Doug MacKay was a character worthy of our forgiveness. Some of his actions could be seen as token gestures rather than ones of general remorse and for this reason Doug may not be a character they want to support.

Even if all these comments are true it did not ruin any of the film for me and I believe Affleck has shown that ‘Gone Baby Gone’ was not simply a fluke. However I still worry he could be a one trick pony so for his next film I would like to see him branch out into a different genre, or at least a different city.

2:1-Affleck’s career is rising like a phoenix out of the ashes of bad choices

and with more films like this one I am sure it will soar even higher

still with critical acclaim.

The Town

The next film from actor turned director Ben Affleck we have another Boston based drama. Affleck did very well with his first film ‘Gone Baby Gone’, which received both critic and box office success. I am very curious to see if he can do the same thing again and show us that ‘Gone Baby Gone’ was not a fluke. The film will also test the acting talents of ‘Gossip Girl’ star Blake Lively who has not done anything this gritty before. Is she up for the challenge? Out 17th Sepetember.