The Town

Rating: 10/10 (18 October 2010)

The Town is based on the novel Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan. The film takes place in Boston, Massachusetts and we soon learn that this is one of the biggest bank robbery capitals in America. As the film goes along we are introduced to a team of bank robbers, who after several elaborate heists have always managed to walk away with a lot of money and still have not been arrested, or caught for it. We also meet an FBI team who is closing in on the robbers because of enough background information and evidence they have to finally get their culprits, if only they can catch them in the act. There is also a romance that blossoms in the film, but due to the circumstances of the characters, it is going to take deceit and eventually loyalty to make it work, if it does end up working at all. If you see the film, you will know what I am talking about. The film is all about loyalty to friends, loved ones and even the authorities and all these different characters will be put into a situation of which to choose to best suit their lives and the ones around them. When I first saw trailers for The Town several months ago at the theatre, I already thought then that this looked like it was going to be a really good movie. The trailers and my expectations were correct. What I was surprised by though, was that The Town wasn't the movie I thought it was going to be. The trailers made the film look a certain way and while I was watching it, I discovered that in a lot of ways it was a different film than advertised. This is not a complaint because I loved the final product. The Town works because of it's tight script which has some very good character study and development and it puts the different characters in tough situations and moral dilemmas and watching them decide what to do that will be best for themselves, but also for the ones around them, I found fascinating to watch and fairly realistic and not clichéd, or predictable at all, which I really compliment the film on. The film also has a terrific pace to it. It does have very little action scenes in it and they are not really needed to make this film more exciting. I say this because the lives of these characters become so involving to us that we really want to see what happens between them and what decisions they make and we do get in a sense to even care for them. It is so involving and fascinating that the over two hour running time is rarely felt because everything is so captivating. The acting is all very good here as well. I would not single out a single performance as being the best because I think the whole cast really does good work here. The direction is tight and focused and really brings the film together and makes for a really entertaining and thrilling watch. Last week I reviewed the Australian film Animal Kingdom which is also about criminal activities. In some ways they are the same and in some they are different. I personally liked The Town better because I really felt we got to know these characters better and the on screen chemistry was great. This film also successfully blends different genres including drama, action and even romance and all were pulled off terrifically and it felt more human to me. The Town is one of the best films of 2010 and I am glad it is doing so well with critics, audiences and the box office.