'The Town' is a complex, engrossing thriller

Rating: 9/10 (1 April 2011)

Directed by Ben Affleck, based on the novel Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan, The Town takes place in Charlestown, Massachusetts. It is a heist/police thriller about four masked bank robbers--Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck), James "Jem" Coughlin (Jeremy Renner), Albert "Gloansy" Magloan (Slaine), and Desmond "Dez" Elden (Owen Burke)--who wind up taking a hostage during a robbery--the bank manager, Claire (Rebecca Hall). They release her, blindfolded. Unsure whether Claire might somehow be able to finger them, Doug pays a visit to her (her not having seen him) and asks her out on a date, which turns into a romantic relationship. Meanwhile, FBI agent Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm) is tailing the four suspects.
After seeing this film, as I was stepping out of the theater, an elderly man who just walked in, asked me, "Was it good?" I replied with my first two-word review: "Very good." He said, "Okay!" For some, that short-and-sweet review would suffice. For the rest, the following is my longer version.
If you have seen the trailer, it appears to be the standard Hollywood plot—the sympathetic villain falls in love with the hostage, betrays his own guys, and maybe end with an elaborate hail of gunfire, and so forth. It's the general plot line for films that involve professional killers—This Gun For Hire, The Killer, The Professional, Bittersweet Life, etc. Luckily, this film is more complex. In fact, the love story doesn't take that much of the center stage. The story looks more into the environment, the people, and the relationships that form a person. Advertisement
In terms of style, this film could be considered a close cousin of Heat and a second cousin of Point Break, but with more drama. The action scenes have an efficient coldness to it that makes it look realistic. As impressive as the action scenes are, this film is mainly character-driven. Ben Affleck's direction is top notch. The pacing is nearly flawless. The car chases through small alleyways of Boston is reminiscent of French Connection. The gun-fights are loud and gritty. The film has just enough small surprises and cleverness that makes it unique. The characters' back stories, their history, and the crime culture bring an extra bit of dimension. The dialogue is frequently witty and playful. I suppose it helps that the story was based on a novel.
Ben Affleck is understated and solid as Doug MacRay, the planner of the heists. While it is not an unusual role for Affleck playing the sympathetic one, he feels like a real person. His relationship with his jailbird father played by Chris Cooper adds an extra dimension. Particularly noteworthy is Jeremy Renner's intriguing performance, which invokes an unnerving unpredictability to the character of "Jem," Doug's close friend and cohort. Renner's character is nearly the opposite of the soft-hearted hero he played in The Hurt Locker—here, he is creepy, erratic, and has no problem killing people off.
Overall, this is a character-driven, solid crime thriller with good direction from Ben Affleck. The performances are first rate and while the action is strong, the film's focus on human drama is what brings this film up a notch. I couldn't quite predict where the film was going. The pacing is good. It's been a while since I've seen an engrossing heist thriller like this one. It's good. Okay, very good.
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