For the next jewel in the crown of his new career, ‘Smoking Aces’ actor turned ‘Gone Baby Gone’ director Ben Affleck has gone for the holy trinity: co-writing, directing and acting in his latest film ‘The Town’. This is clearly no mean feat: there can only be so many Clint Eastwoods in Hollywood. It is certainly a risk for Affleck, who has seen his credibility plummet in the past; he has only recently got back a respectable reputation, and for that reason the attention is fixed, possibly unfairly, on Affleck and what he brings to the movie.
As with ‘Gone Baby Gone’, ‘The Town’ is set in Boston, this time in Charlestown, which we are told produces more bank robbers and criminals than anywhere else. It is difficult to see how Affleck feels about his home turf of Massachusetts; on the one hand it seems to inspire a lot of his films, but on the other he never shows it in a particularly flattering light. Here, Affleck plays Doug MacRay, a local hero who, along with his best friend Jem, played by Jeremy Renner, and two other nameless crooks, robs banks and robs them very well. The opening scene shows the group skilfully and professionally steal from a bank in the heart of Boston. They wear frightening masks, wield heavy-duty artillery, microwave security tapes and bleach all traces of their DNA; these guys know what they are doing. But when one of the bank workers pushes the silent alarm, the crew are forced to improvise and take bank manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) as a hostage. This leaves her as a loose end: Doug volunteers to execute some surveillance of her to see if she tells the cops anything. The watching soon turns into a conversation and then a relationship, which has Doug questioning whether he has to stay in Charlestown or try and break out again.
The cast is uniformally excellent, with each actor pulling their own weight. The two already well established actors, Affleck and Hall, give great performances; Hall pulls off a convincing American accent while Affleck shows he suits the role of the rugged criminal more than the smooth faced romcom lead. New actors Jeremy Renner and Blake Lively also hold their own, with Renner expertly playing an unhinged thug while Lively goes through an especially impressive transformation in her move to the big screen. From the glamorous Upper-East sider Serena van der Woodsen in the hit US show ‘Gossip Girl’, Blake Lively is transformed into the cheap and thoroughly undesirable Krista Coughlin. There are of course bad guys, and, being a crime film, they appear on both sides of the law. There is the sinister florist, Pete Postlethwaite, who runs the crime racket in Charlestown, while Jon Hamm, best known from ‘Mad Men’, plays FBI agent Andrew Fawley. Both men show little compassion, which instantly, albeit unsubtly, draws the audience into backing Doug.
There are enough excellently executed chase scenes and gun fights to break up the drama between Affleck and Hall. However, on top of this, what makes the film stand out is the intimate, insider’s knowledge Affleck has for this area of Boston; he knows why these men do what they do and how they get roped into it. He understands how these are the types of men whose fathers were also criminals and toast to friends who are in prison. He also takes time to show why none of these men have any money after a $90,000 bank raid. It transpires that, of course, this money can’t be saved or hidden away, but must instead be squandered quickly on gambling, drugs and girls so that the police can’t trace anything. It may be true that the story lacks originality, but having the heart and insight of Affleck puts the film above the crime dramas Guy Ritchie usually regurgitates. The heart also shows Affleck’s true feelings to Boston, which is one of love and acceptance of both its good and bad qualities.
However, there are some aspects of the film that some members of the audience may find difficult to swallow. The plot is frankly nothing that hasn’t been seen before, and Affleck fails to fully develop many of the minor characters. In addition, some might not feel that Doug MacKay is a character worthy of our forgiveness, as some of his actions could be seen as token gestures rather than ones of general remorse.
Yet regardless of these criticisms, they cannot scupper this excellent film. With this skilfully made crime flick, Affleck has shown that ‘Gone Baby Gone’ was no fluke – it would, however, be nice to see him branch out to another genre, or at the very least a different city. Nonetheless, Affleck’s career is rising like a phoenix out of the ashes of bad choices, and with more films like ‘The Town’ it seems destined to soar even higher still with critical acclaim.
