Promotion for The Town touts it as “from the acclaimed director of Gone Baby Gone” which appears to be a deliberate dodge to avoid naming the film’s director – Ben Affleck. The concern being that if people see that Ben Affleck directed the picture – a guy possibly most famous for his previous relationship with Jennifer Lopez – it won’t be taken seriously. Given that Affleck has delivered the goods with two films now, maybe his directorial work can come out of the fine print.
A group of robbers from the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown knock over a bank, taking bank manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) hostage. Concerned that Claire might have seen something, trigger happy James (Jeremy Renner) wants Doug (Ben Affleck) to follow her movements to ensure they’re in the clear. When Doug starts seeing Claire, tensions between Doug and his crew flare while FBI agent Frawley (Jon Hamm) steadily builds the pressure.
As a whole this is a good heist film. It kicks off with tornadic fury and keeps the film moving with other robberies. Affleck stands out as the nice thief to Renner’s twitchy James who is a territorial pug you do not want to try and pet. Continue reading
The Filmsmith 