A very good crime thriller

Rating: 8/10 (26 September 2010)

When Ben Affleck was a rising star back in the late nineties he had earned respected for staring in films like Good Will Hunting, Shakespeare in Love and Dogma, and big bucks from blockbusters such as Armageddon. But his career went downhill when he starred in critical flops like Pearl Harbor, Daredevil and worst of all Gigli, with his then fiancé Jennifer Lopez. But he has had a hell of a comeback, directing the crime thriller Gone Baby Gone and having a supporting role in State of Play. His comeback is now complete with The Town and shows that Affleck is an excellent director in the making.
Set in Boston, the area of Charlestown is an area famous for being the bank robbery capital of the world and producing more bank robberies then anyways. Doug MacRay (Affleck) runs a gang of bank robbers, including his hot headed friend James 'Jem' Coughlin (Jeremy Renner), getaway driver Albert 'Gloansy' Magloan (Slaine) and youngster Desmond 'Dez' Elden (Owen Burke). After robbing a bank in Cambridge the gang kidnap bank manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) as a hostage. With the FBI involved Doug sets out to silence the woman and ends falling for the woman. FBI agent Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm) is on the hunt, the gang continue with their operations, being lead by Irish crime lord the Floirist (Pete Postlehewaite).
With a great cast Affleck directs an effective film. The Town is best film I have seen Affleck perform and he is convicting in his role as a gangster with at least some morals. Hall was excellent as a woman overcoming post-traumatic stress disorder and falls for Doug as rebound reaction. Renner continues to raise with another fine performance as a man with anger issues and a near sociopath and Hamm's role was very similar Al Pacino's in Heat. Postlehewaite also gave a very good Irish accent and a sinister performance. Hopefully there are some award nods for Hall and some of the supporting actors.
The script written by Affleck, Peter Craig and Aaron Stockard was a well crafted, plotted affair with well rounded characters all round. Affleck's direction was well paced and allowing for well crafted action and crime scenes and a moments of character development and emotional depth. There is a gritty style but does not linger on violence or being stereotypical. Affleck does seem to be influenced by Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, Ron Howard, Michael Mann and similar directors: he is serious for the most part and does not sugarcoat things. With excellent cinematography and editing Affleck directs some excellent action sequences in a realistic manner and shows that action does not need a $100 Million budget. There are no elements that drag the film out and the crime scenes were done with effect and pace. They were believable and well thought-out. There is a excellent opening bank robbery sequence with the team in Halloween masks, which was clearly influenced by The Dark Knight. Affleck also has a dark sense of humour to help little the film occasionally. But Affleck does seem to like his helicopter and skyline a bit to much: yet as a criticism it is a minor one.
This is a film with a heart and a brain.
Affleck seems to be on the road to being the next Clint Eastwood.