Flick Flak: The Town
The Town
Directed by: Ben Affleck
Starring: Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall.
15, 124mins
Ben Affleck has had a mixed career to say the least, with lows including being dressed in red leather (complete with horns) in Daredevil, to being utterly panned for Gigli, in which he starred with acting legend Jennifer Lopez. However he is currently on an upward trend, and The Town absolutely continues his movement towards being a respected film icon.
His 2007 directorial debut Gone Baby Gone was overlooked by most people, which was a shame as it was one of my favourite films of the year. It shares a number of traits with The Town: they depict life on the streets of Boston for the majority of people, in the rougher neighbourhoods of the city. They are both highly realistic, gritty, and are morally complex.
To be fair, the plot of The Town is far from original. In the armed robbery capital of America - Charlestown, Boston - Doug MacRay (Affleck) meets a girl for whom he wants to give it all up and leave, if he can just pull one last job. Of course, it's never that easy. Claire (British actress Rebecca Hall) is a witness to his last job, and the rest of his gang, especially Gem (Jeremy Renner) feel this could be a problem. Ben Affleck gets the very best out of a tired storyline however, with terrific action, drama which draws the audience in, humour, and excellent acting.
To an extent this is the 'Ben Affleck show'. He writes, directs and stars, and all three of these he has done with great skill. The dialogue feels thoroughly real, though he does not always steer clear of clichs, and the directing is top-notch: it takes something special to marry action and drama as well as this. You care about the characters and their plights, and are never bored, particularly when the film shifts gear for the action scenes. The heists are carried out in style, the violence is sudden and brutal, and a car chase delivers thrills up there with similar scenes from Ronin or the Bourne films; you cannot pay much higher praise than that in terms of skilfully-shot chases. On top of this Affleck's acting is perfectly good. He may be effectively playing himself, down to the protagonist's hometown, but he does it well, bringing charm, humour and desperation to his put-upon character.
Ben is not alone in delivering a good performance: the whole cast are believable, no doubt boosted by the presence of ex-convicts from Charlestown among them. Pete Postlethwaite is intimidating as Fergie the Florist (that's not a gangster nickname, he really is a florist. He also finds jobs for MacRay's gang.) Rebecca Hall is pretty good as Doug's new found love, and Blake Lively surprises in her role - I have never seen Gossip Girl but I assume that this promiscuous and desperate, drug-addicted single mother is something of a departure for her, and she is very good. Worthy of a special mention is Jeremy Renner, who also departs from previous roles in which I have seen him, namely in 28 Weeks Later as a friendly American soldier and The Hurt Locker as a reckless American soldier. In The Town he exudes menace and barely-controlled fury as MacRay's loose cannon teammate, and the scene in which he joins Doug and Claire at their table while they are on a date is a tense affair.
The Town hits every note for which it strives, with several funny scenes, undeniably cool moments, some brutal scenes, and some moving. There is not a lot more to say as I do not want to drop any spoilers, so simply, go and watch this if you like a crime drama, or even if you don't - I went with several friends who would not usually enjoy said genre and still loved it. Bring on Ben Affleck's next film!
