implausible caper/love story. female lead doesn't belong in this movie

Rating: 4/10 (2 January 2012)

The Town was written & directed by Affleck, and it's pretty watchable, about a bunch of bank robbers from an area that produces the best bank robbers in the nation, Charlestown. Affleck is one of those robbers, but his cover that he works as some sort of quarry worker. In order to pull off a robbery, he has to temporarily kidnap a beautiful bank officer. Turns out, she lives in Charlestown, and he has to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't cooperate with the cops. Wouldn't you know, they fall in love, and she is so stupid that this sophisticated, elegant gal who could easily land a successful dot-com entrepreneur has no idea that this was the guy who kidnapped her, and that he is a bank robber rather than a quarryman. The movie ends with another robbery and a series of chase scenes, and it looks like Affleck gets away with something, and the girlfriend picks up a bunch of stolen money when she's digging in her garden. I was not really following it at that point. The woman, Rebecca Hall, does not in the least convey a naive Charlestown girl. It's a terrible bit of casting.