Thoughtful, character-driven crime drama thriller

Rating: 9/10 (19 December 2010)

Take a crime-ridden community with gritty streets but with young men trying to get to a better life and the hopefulness of a possible romance, and you get "The Town", a thoughtful and discerning dramatic thriller.
Going beyond "Gone Baby Gone" (2008), Ben Affleck has created an extremely well done film. Yes, it's a crime thriller, but better than that, it has real characters who each have their own motives. Most of the advancements in the plot are done rather subtly, and they are also mostly character-driven. And that's the sign of a great crime thriller.
"The Town" should be in the running for all the major awards of the season. Affleck, Rebecca Hall, and Jeremy Renner all portrayed interesting characters that had their own reasons for getting into and out of the town full of crime. "The Town" is one of the best crime dramas made, especially for those wanting to see more acumen, consideration and distinction in the genre.