Review: The Town

Plot: Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) is a washed-up former NHL draftee living on the tough streets of the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown. A quarry worker, Ben is also caught up in the criminal underworld of bank robbing with his friend James "Jem" Coughlin (Jeremy Renner). However, after Doug and his group rob a Cambridge bank and Doug begins a relationship with the bank manager Claire (Rebecca Hall) he considers leaving Charlestown and his criminal life behind permanently. But can his friend, his boss, his sense of loyalty, or the FBI let Doug leave for good?

Review: Next to Inception, The Town is easily the best film of 2010 so far. Affleck's directorial followup to 2007's Gone Baby Gone proves definitively that the success of his first film was no one time fluke. Affleck as a director is the real deal. The Town is taunt, poignant, filled with fantastic performances and engages the audience at a visceral and emotional level. Affleck is brilliant at establishing connections to all the film's characters.
The Town is getting a lot of comparisons to 1995's Heat starring Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino. While each film has its merits, Heat had more of a high-class, ultra professional, gentlemen bank robbers feel to it. The Town is much grittier. These bank robbers while professional are blue collar, poor, and don't see a lot of return on their considerable efforts. Most of it goes back to Fergie the Florist, an Irish crime boss played with eerie malevolence by Pete Postlethwaite.
Where The Town trumps Heat however is in the relationships between the characters. The two main relationships are between Doug and Claire and Doug and Jem. While Claire tends to bring out Doug's better qualities (the scene where Doug opens up to Claire about his mother is particularly poignant) Jem invokes Doug loyalty and lifelong friendship. Loyalty is a strong theme in The Town. The devotion that Jem has to Doug is unparalleled. At one point in the movie Doug tells Jem that he needs him to come with him, Jem can't ask why and both of them are going to hurt some people. Jem pauses about three seconds and says, "Who's car are we takin'?" THAT'S loyalty. Renner is perfect in the role as Jem, and his gritty gutsy performance is bound to earn him a Best Supporting Actor nod come Oscar time.
Yet neither one of these relationships works without Affleck's performance. Let's face it, with turns in films like Reindeer Games, Surviving Christmas, and the God-awful Gigli it's fair to say that Affleck's performances have been less than stellar. It is without the slightest bit of irony then that I write that this is the performance of Ben Affleck's career. He is simply fantastic in the role of the conflicted, conscience bound Doug. Every scene is a showstopper, from his confrontation with Jem, to his showdown with FBI agent Adam Frawley (a strong performance by Mad Men's Jon Hamm), to Doug's encounters with his strung out ex-girlfriend Krista (Blake Lively). (Incidentally Blake Lively is phenomenal as Krista. I never would have thought that the girl from Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants could pull off a role like this but she is perfect for the part. And boy do they have her skanked up!)
What sealed it for me however was the short scene between Affleck and Postlethwaite where Doug tries to tell Fergie he's leaving. It just gave me goosebumps. I just couldn't help myself from rooting for Doug and railing against Frawley even though I knew that Doug was the criminal and Frawley was "the good guy." I can't believe I'm going to say this but...there is a good chance that Affleck could be nominated for Best Actor for this film. And if he's not nominated for Best Director it's a crying shame.
Aside from all the great performances The Town is also a great action drama. The bank robbing scenes are slick and taunt thanks in large part to cinematographer Robert Elswit. The opening scene where the gang robs the Cambridge bank alternates between live action and the bank's cameras. The contrast in loud violent sounds to sudden silence and back again is riveting. Many of the shots are also at floor level from the perspective of the hostages. Editor Dylan Tichenor's choices lend an authenticity and alternate perspective to the robbery. Not to be overlooked are the chase scenes as well. Some of the best since The French Connection in my opinion. And anyone who is a Red Sox or Yankees fan, or even if you're not a baseball fan, will love the beauty of the final heist.
The mark of a great film to me is how much you keep thinking about it after the final credits have rolled. I can honestly say that The Town has popped into my head on more than one occassion since I saw it Friday night. As sure as New England clam chowder is thick I assure you once you enter The Town you'll never want to leave.

My rating: 10/10