Solid crime thriller that works even if significant aspects of it don't

Rating: Null/10 (1 May 2011)

There was a lot of positive press for Ben Affleck's The Town when it came out in the UK - a lot of journalists keen to write pieces about how Affleck had grown up and matured into a gritty and responsible director etc etc. I was fine with this as I had been quite taken by Gone Baby Gone, but ultimately I was still coming to The Town as a fresh film. Based on the book Prince of Thieves, I understand that Affleck's first cut of the film was double the length of the released version and I can only assume that there must have been a lot of characterisation and the like in this longer version because, although some remains here, the film is a fairly straightforward affair of bank robbers being closed in on by the FBI while also planning "one last big score".
Although plot summaries and descriptions of the film focus on the side of the film that sees "criminal with a heart of gold" Doug starting a relationship with bank manager Claire (one of his victims and a possible witness), this doesn't actually make up as much of the film as I thought it would – the majority of it is tension between the main characters and of course the robbery action sequences. This is probably for the best because the "relationship with witness" aspect is probably the weakest and never really convinced me whenever the film relied upon it and the only time I really appreciated it was when it was a plot device or when it added to the film's main function as a thriller. This is a weakness to the film but yet it does still work because the thriller side to the film is solidly done and engaging for the most of the time.
The action sequences are well put together without ever making the viewer feel like they are watching a Hollywood action movie – they are noisy and overblown for sure, but they are done in such a way that you sort of accept them as being rather low-key and gritty (although this might be as much of a comment about Hollywood excess as it is about this film). These are the heart of the film but the foundation of it all is the creation of this part of Boston complete with characters with low aspirations, thick accents and attitudes handed down through generations. In this regard it works well and the cast mostly deliver on it. OK they are still very much playing "types" rather than characters but their performances are not limited by this necessarily. Affleck is solid in the lead, perhaps a little too sappy and unconvincing but he is still decent enough to do the job. Renner is better as he has none of this "good guy at heart" stuff to worry about, likewise Hamm is allowed to enjoy himself without worrying about the details too much. Hall relaxes as much as she can and focuses on having sufficient chemistry with Affleck to make her character work – she can't make it work but she does the best she can with it. Notable names in small supporting roles point either to deleted scenes or to the pull that Affleck has – Postlewaithe, Cooper, Garber and a few others are in there as it goes.
Overall The Town is a solidly enjoyable crime thriller with believable roots in Boston. Unfortunately not all aspects of it are as believable or as engaging because some of it just doesn't work particularly well and ultimately none of it matters as much as it would like to, but it does entertain on the way thanks to good performances, gritty presentation, solid action and an understanding of how the thriller works. Not as brilliant as some of the hype at the time would have you believe but still a decent crime thriller.