(2010)
Dir: Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck is talented. Let’s not jump on a hate bandwagon just because he’s better looking than us. The guy can act, write and yes, the guy can direct. It’s such a shame that he put all of his talent into this tired story.
It’s a heist film. You know the drill. It focuses on a group of professional thieves, including Affleck’s Doug MacRay and the hottest talent in Hollywood Jeremy Renner as the unstable Jem Coughlin. Just like Michael Mann’s brilliant Heat and Kathryn Bigelow’s thrilling Point Break, the criminals are so testosterone fuelled that you almost expect any woman sitting watching to become pregnant.
Rebecca Hall’s addition as the unfortunate bank manager held hostage by Affleck’s masked crew is where the film’s narrative struggles. There’s nothing wrong with Hall’s performance. She is an excellent actress; it’s simply that the inclusion of her convenient romance with Affleck’s MacRay feels about as natural as Pete Postlethwaite’s awkward ‘Oirish tones.
It’s a real shame that the plot fails, as there’s much here deserving of praise. The cast is superb, which is to be expected with the likes of Affleck, Renner, and Hall, as well as the world’s coolest man, Mad Men’s Jon Hamm, as the pursuing FBI Agent, and, in a brief yet gripping cameo, the always excellent Chris Cooper.
The action scenes are brutally visceral. Very Heat. It’s good to note for his future career that Affleck knows how to handle set pieces. That’s how I view this film: a sign of things to come for a talented young director. Both this and the terrific Gone Baby Gone show a real understanding of storytelling within the working class American community. His dealings with the strife of criminal life are fascinating yet all too brief, but he at least tries.
Ultimately, The Town is disappointing and uninspiring as a standalone film. But as a sign of things to come for a blossoming director, I say it’s a film of real promise.
*** / *****
“One for the future.”
Another opinion…
Jeremy Renner is definitely the best thing in this movie. The character he plays is so apeshit crazy, that he’s more likely to punch you in the spine than give you a handshake.
The movie as a whole is very well constructed. The set pieces are impressive with real punch to them. The grittiness that permeates the movie has an air of authenticity about it. You can tell that Affleck has a real feel for the setting and the crime family that we are observing is by far the most interesting aspect of the movie.
I didn’t really buy the movie’s prelude. Why exactly do they take Claire hostage in the first place?
They shoehorn in the romance, which of course was the point, but then they never really come round to bringing up the significance of the initial bank robbing again. The FBI doesn’t break the case off the backs of their investigation into it.
The disintegration of the family’s relationship should have been the motor that drives the movie along. Specifically, the relationship between Doug played by Affleck, Jem played by Renner and Krista played by Lively. This would have made far more dramatic sense and the brief moments where this does arise, especially with Jem insinuating to Doug’s past relationship with Krista, are the most intriguing parts of the movie.
The relationship between Doug and Claire should really have been seen as redundant by comparison. Though instead the movie hinges on a poorly executed love triangle, which makes Krista’s behaviour just come across as totally loony. She sacrifices her entire family, including Doug who she reputedly is in love with, all because of a clichéd side plot that involves the FBI blackmailing her with loss of custody of her child.
And whilst we’re on the subject of loony behaviour – what the hell was that guy doing when he drives the ambulance out into a fully assembled mass of FBI? What did he think the ambulance suddenly had bullet proof windows?
I would have far preferred a film about the lack of responsibility that Doug clearly shows throughout the movie towards raising Krista’s child. The child’s paternity does after all remain completely ambiguous. Though alas no, instead what we get is a film about what happens when one member of a criminal fraternity decides to leave ‘the family’ and ‘the town’ behind. That makes for a far more dramatic sound bite. I just can’t help but look at this movie as a missed opportunity. It’s a very competent piece of work. Still, I feel with a bit of light tweaking to the plot of the movie, Affleck could have turned out something altogether tastier.
**3/4 /*****
“You can count that the FBI has at least one mad man for the job.”
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