The Town (2010)

Rating: 8/10 (6 February 2013)

I must admit that I hate Ben Affleck and don't watch his movies usually because I personally think he is not a good actor, but I watched this movie just because of his good show as a debutant director in Gone Baby Gone. And I must say he did a wonderful job here continuing from where he left in 2007 and if you ask me he could possibly be the next Clint Eastwood in the making if he keeps growing from here in the field of Direction. Adding to that, I think his effort out here will definitely earn him the Oscar nomination this year. Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) was born and raised in Charlestown, a blue-collar neighborhood in Boston, where crime is a part of life. Charlestown is the world's capital for carjacking, kidnappings, and armed robberies. The tricks of the criminal trade are passed down from father to son. Doug is the brains and ruthless leader of a gang of bank robbers who have been able to get out clean after each bank robbery. But Doug knows that his luck will not last forever, and he is looking for one last big heist that will give him the chance to leave the town in his rear-view mirror. But no one will let him, especially, his right-hand man Jeremy (James Coughlin); because he believes that it would be a personal betrayal to him, and he is not going to allow that. In a recent bank job, Doug forced the bank manager Claire (Rebecca Hall) to open the safe, and then took her hostage as leverage for the getaway, eventually setting her free unharmed. Doug knows that he should leave Claire alone, but she only lives four blocks from him, and he can handle it, but he begins to fall for her. Their romantic involvement is about to take them down a perilous path. 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. I would not single out a single performance as being the best because I think the whole cast 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. 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 audiences and at the box office.
My Rating- 8/10