”I’ll see you again, on this side or the other.”
As an actor, Ben Affleck won’t be remembered in the same breath as Clint Eastwood. However, as a director, Affleck is almost assured the same longevity. Affleck made a strong debut in his first directorial effort with the Dennis Lehane adaptation, Gone Baby Gone, a film not too different from Eastwood’s own adaptation, Mystic River.
The Town isn’t based on a novel by Lehane (it’s based on The Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan), but it shares similar themes. The action shifts from Gone Baby Gone’s Dorchester to Charlestown, a section of Boston just north of the city proper and once a breeding ground for bank robbers. Affleck stars as Doug MacRay, the brains behind a quartet of stick-up artists. His right-hand man is childhood friend James “Jem” Coughlin (Jeremy Renner), a hothead whose rash actions initiate the film’s central plot.
The film opens with the crew holding up a bank. When a silent alarm is tripped, Jem takes bank president Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) hostage, making their getaway, and dropping her off soon after. Doug agrees to keep a close on her after learning Claire lives a mere four blocks away from them. There’s a quick meet cute in a Laundromat as Doug becomes a strong shoulder for the vulnerable Claire to cry on. In turn, she becomes a chance for Doug to escape his old life. She's a far cry from his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Krista (Blake Lively), a drug-addled single mother and sister to Jem. With a tanned face caked in make-up, she's like the baby version of Amy Ryan's character in Gone Baby Gone.
The Town consists of many familiar elements of the crime drama, but the film is so well-crafted that it surpasses conventions. Affleck's knowledge and love of the city comes through in every frame shot. His action sequences (which are a dash of Michael Mann, a dash of John Frankenheimer) are skillfully composed without resorting to overused techniques like the shakycam. After the opening bank job, the next set piece is an armored car heist leading into a rousing car chase through the narrow Bostonian streets. It culminates in an out of left field, but very funny, conclusion. The Town climaxes in a daring daylight robbery of Fenway Park.
Affleck and the wonderful Rebecca Hall are great in their roles, even if their relationship isn't as interesting as Doug's interactions with his cohorts, in particular Jeremy Renner's Jem. The Oscar nominated star of The Hurt Locker seems to channel the spirit of James Cagney in his portrayal of the volatile Jem. However, he's a puppy dog compared to Pete Postlethwaite who plays the role of crime boss Fergie the Florist with a menacing restraint. Chris Cooper nearly blows everybody else away in his lone scene as Doug's father who is serving a life sentence for a double murder. Jon Hamm (fulfilling the legal obligation to include a cast member of Mad Men in every movie) rounds out the cast in a rather thin role as the FBI agent on Doug's trail.
Rating: ***
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