"I'm proud to be from Charlestown. It ruined my life, literally, but I'm proud."

Rating: 8/10 (27 May 2015)

In his second time directing, Ben Affleck demonstrates once again his skill both in front of and behind the camera. In the unique setting of the neighbourhood of Charlestown he creates a great film held together by strong characters and an authentic environment of the crime ridden Charlestown.
We follow criminal Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck), part of a group who carries out many high stake bank robberies. After taking a woman named Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) hostage to ensure a safe escape, Doug follows her into a Laundrette to discover whether she knows anything. But as he talks to her he begins to care for her and slowly begins to have feelings. These feelings mixed with his guilt over the harm that his life of crime can cause others and the FBI drawing closer he begins to want to leave Charlestown and start a new life with the woman he loves.
Affleck performs well as the lead whilst juggling both his directing and writing duties with a very restrained performance of a man longing for something different in life. He comes across as very likable in spite of his crimes and does get over the difficulty of balancing his loyalty towards the town and people that raised him with his new found love and longing for a normal life.
Though the highlight of the film is definitely Renner who plays a fairly psychotic, but surprisingly sympathetic character. He plays James Coughlin, a man who is like a brother to Doug who shares an unspoken loyalty with one another willing to put their lives on the line for one another. In spite of this loyalty they are also both very different people with Doug's longing to leave the life of crime contrasted with Renner's acceptance of it and a true product of the criminal underworld. Whilst Affleck's character is often hesitant on harming others, James is constantly prepared for it bashing in a cashier's head for speaking out of turn and being quite ready to kill their hostage at any risk of getting caught without even giving a second thought.
But this film is more than just about it's characters. It's about a place called Charlestown in Boston, which the film states in its introduction that it breeds more bank robbers and armoured car thieves than anywhere else in the world. It's a dangerous environment to be raised in when everyone around you lives such a life it leaves a person with little choice to do otherwise. This is exactly what made Doug MacRay who he is in the film. He's not a bad person, but he's put in an environment where he had no other choice but to turn to a life of crime or betray his father and friends. Even when he tries to leave it seems as if his friends and employers keep sucking him back in like a dark pit with no escape with people like Coughlin keeping him trapped in the world of crime.
On top of his ability to create convincing human drama on screen, Affleck also demonstrates his skill as an action director with several memorable heists throughout the film. Each heist keeps an intimidating atmosphere through the gangs use of threatening masks and the feel that they are in complete control of the situation making them come across as real professionals.
The heists also incorporate an interesting element often overlooked in heist films which is the psychological intimidation being one of the most effective weapons. Whilst pointing guns and yelling certainly creates great threat, for a guard to hear the name of loved ones or their own addresses the level of intimidation reaches an entirely new level. This combined with the impressive shootouts and driving sequences demonstrates how Ben Affleck has really evolved as a filmmaker.
Whilst his career had dipped before, this was a real sign that Ben Affleck was deservingly back in the highlight. He made a great choice of material to work from and uses his expertise as a filmmaker of knowing how to work with his actors along with his ability to keep the story fast paced and exciting to make the film a real standout.