This weekend’s box-office winner was Ben Affleck’s Boston-based crime drama, The Town. This is his second major directorial effort, after the critically-acclaimed Gone Baby Gone in 2007. Affleck stars in the film as Doug MacRay and co-wrote the script, an adaptation of Chuck Hogan’s novel, Prince of Thieves. Joining the Academy-Award winning screenwriter of Good Will Hunting is a star-studded cast which includes this year’s Academy-Award nominee Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), British ingenue and Golden Globe nominee Rebecca Hall (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), Golden Globe winner John Hamm (Man Men), Academy-Award winner Chris Cooper (Adaptation, American Beauty), Academy-Award nominee Pete Postlethwaite (Clash of the Titans), and Hollywood’s currently fashionable “it-girl” Blake Lively (Gossip Girl). The film took in $23.8 million in nationwide sales and earned Warner Bros. their highest opening weekend for the month of September. The Town beat out the high school sex comedy Easy A and M. Night Shyamalan’s horror thriller Devil, both of which had opened this weekend as well.
Here’s what you need to know: In Charlestown, Doug is a bank robber with a heart who falls for the assistant manager of a bank, the hostage during his gang’s latest heist, while the FBI gets closer to cracking down their crime spree. The bank robbers try to hide their identity while dressed in scary skull and ugly nun masks, and even as fully-uniformed police officers, in order to blend in with the crowd for the movie’s grand finale shoot out. They meticulously destroy any evidence at each crime scene by throwing bleach all over vault shelves, and torching each of their getaway vehicles to throw the FBI off their trail. Doug, his best friend, Jimmy, played by Renner, and their circle of thieves work for Postlethwaite, as Fergie, the crime boss who fronts as a local florist. Hall is Claire Keesey, the innocent hostage and target of Doug’s affections. Hamm plays the tenacious federal agent Adam Frawley. Lively is Jimmy’s drug addict sister and a troubled single mother, Krista. Cooper plays Doug’s jailbird father, serving a life sentence for murder.
As Doug keeps an eye on Claire, he’s determined to find out what she’s telling the Feds of her blind-folded abduction. His involvement results in his desire to exit the life of crime, and to start over with the woman that he loves. As things begin to spiral out of control and the heat from the law gets hotter, Jimmy won’t let Doug escape Charlestown so easily, especially since their next job is the biggest of their criminal careers and could make them millions.
With authentic Bostonian accents, Affleck and his crew of misfits paint a raw and compelling picture of how the hardships of Charlestown ultimately lead to a bank robbing lifestyle. Affleck is the gritty, yet likable anti-hero, perhaps in his most commendable acting role to date. Renner exacts his fearless and ballsy depiction of Jimmy, whose passion for criminal behavior is like a religion. Hall’s portrayal as a victim is endearing at times, especially during the intimate scenes she shares with Affleck, confiding that she’s basically been a victim of some sort her whole life. Lively was surprisingly intriguing to watch as a damaged and promiscuous Charles-“townie” who wants to run away with Doug. Cooper nails his role as bitterly accepting of his place in an imprisoned society of life or death. Postlethwaite delivers a determined performance as the Irishman with a killer stare who gets what he wants, no matter the cost. Essentially, there weren’t any undeveloped, unworthy, or forgettable performances among the lead characters. Kudos to Affleck for pursuing such interesting figures as Postlethwaite, and accepting Lively’s persistence and ability to fulfill the requirements of her role.
The general story may not be the most original for the big screen, but exhilarating twists and dangerous turns keep the audience motivated. There’s a lot to consider in favor of this film: The badass-ness of Affleck and his men is thrilling to watch, yet in the hope to see justice prevail, we are taught that there can be a type of love to endure through anything. Not everybody makes it out alive amid the very exciting and explosive chase scenes against the unwitting Charlestown police and under-estimating FBI. All of these ingredients, as well as the obvious comparisons to Martin Scorsese’s The Departed and Michael Mann’s Heat, are what makes the buzz about The Town as an Oscar contender plausible. The film isn’t aiming for action while the storyline is masterfully presented, yet it has loads of quality action. It isn’t overtly a love story, yet when the truth comes out about Doug’s role in Claire’s traumatic experience, it’s truly heartbreaking to see how honestly and deeply he feels about her. It doesn’t outwardly profess to be about the bad guys and their brotherhood, yet Doug and Jimmy are an intense duo beyond their criminal escapades, proving that the importance of family and community can transcend off the big screen in the most unexpected ways.
My advice: Go see The Town. If you’re not looking to commit emotion to a story for two or so hours of your life, go see something else. The Town will welcome you in, even if you’re reluctant, but you’ll return back to reality, “to one side or the other,” riveted with a sense of having participated in this artfully deviant roller coaster of modern-day cinematic gold.
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