If you loved "Heat" you'll like this

Rating: 7/10 (28 October 2010)

Along with the "Hooker with the Heart of Gold" the "Criminal who wants to turn his Life Around" is one of the most popular of clichéd characters in movies. In fairness "The Town" is a good example of this genre. Ben Affleck's directorial debut "Gone Baby Gone" was a surprisingly bleak. This film is a considerably lighter in tone, even if it does deal with a gang of bank robbers.
Affleck's plays the head of the gang, Doug McRay. They rob a bank but the manager (Rebecca Hall) lives near the gang in Charlestown, the Boston district that gives the film its title. The FBI, led by Jon Hamm, start to investigate the robbery. The gang decide to keep an eye on the manager to find out if she can identify them. She and McRay fall into conversation almost immediately and start going out. A bit unlikely , I know. As they get to know each other we learn the McRay's back-story. He is a good bank robber but is unhappy that he is to going down the path that led his father to be in jail for murder.
He wants to call it a day but his second-in-command and best friend (Jeremy Renner) is a loose cannon and is getting a kick from the lifestyle after being in jail for 9 years. He wants to continue robbing but is determined not to go to jail again. A huge robbery at the Boston Red Sox stadium (Fenway Park) is set up even though the FBI investigation is getting closer to the gang. This leads to a dramatic set piece to climax the film.
The plot isn't very original but the acting is excellent and the chase and robbery scenes are very well done. If you loved Michael Mann's "Heat" you will like this film.