THE TOWN (includes trailer)
October 19th 2010 12:24
The Town - written/directed by Ben Affleck - now in cinemas
Perhaps I was setting myself up for disappointment going into The Town, considering the expectations I had. When Ben Affleck made his directorial debut on Gone Baby Gone with such electric results, you could have knocked me over with a feather. I walked into Gone Baby Gone expecting very little and I got a hell of a lot. So now with The Town, my expectations would have to be recalibrated for a more modest outcome, a respectable film that pulls together by the end, in spite of it's shortcoming – but still - was it so much to ask for two works of excellence in a row from Ben Affleck, I cry, with my tongue not entirely in my cheek.
Like Gone Baby Gone, director Ben Affleck returns us to the city of Boston, the area of Charles-town which he portrays with an affection, despite it being the crime capital of Boston. Affleck is like a parent who sees Charles-town as a good for nothing delinquent child that despite it being a complete let down, he can't help but love it and it's struggling residents anyway. The Town has a story line to it that perhaps feels a little too familiar, a run of the numbers crime thriller. A gang of notorious bank robbers, which includes Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) as well as Affleck himself, bust out the automatic weapons and pull off a major bank job in record time during the opening moments of The Town, donned with outrageous Halloween masks, leaving the bank manager Claire, played by Rebecca Hall (The Prestige, Vicky Cristina Barcelona), absolutely traumatised. Claire begins talking to the FBI about her experience after being held up, as well as briefly kidnapped as the gang fled from the scene of the crime.
The gang have four members, but it's Affleck and Renner who have the leads, with the other cast members Slaine and Owen Burke playing thinly drawn characters who hardly feature. Doug (Ben Affleck) and James (Jeremy Renner), who has already done time for manslaughter, discuss keeping an eye on their former hostage Claire, just to make sure she doesn't talk. When Doug turns his business of keeping an eye (or stalking) into a full fledged romance with Claire, that's where The Town builds up it's tale of brotherhood, betrayal and romance.
The Town is nowhere near as captivating or accomplished as Gone Baby Gone, but it's strengths are numerous, even if it seems like a story we've all seen many times. Like Afflecks previous Gone Baby Gone, The Town isn't as concerned with plot as it is with it's social conscience, emotion and energy. Affleck films Charles-town like it were the main character, with a keen eye for it's streets and residents. Affleck, in sticking to what he knows, brings a lived through sense of place and feeling, keenly capturing residents of the city, understanding their struggles and concerns. This functions as the heart beat, serving to sustain The Town through it's numerous problems.
Despite Affleck giving one of his better performances to date, he still isn't an actor powerful enough in his acting ability to carry a film like this in the leading role. The Town has clearly suffered from him casting himself, as too many of it's scenes seem under nourished and under directed. Affleck makes the sophomore mistake of tension gripping the film too late into it's story. We get a sense of intention and ideas that feel like they could have been played better as traces of great moments trickle through. The biggest problem with The Town is the character of Agent Frawley, played by Jon Hamm, who is set on busting Doug's gang when they next strike. Hamm's character is like the equivalent of a card board cut out, he's dull to watch and the conflict that arises from the people he's trying to bring to justice feels dramatically uninteresting.
The Town still comes through with it's riveting third act, picking up the pace and elevating the film to a very respectable level. The Town relies on it's investment in the neighbourhood and sense of place and belonging. The dramatic irony works well in Claire's relationship with an unmasked Doug, who's identity is inevitably revealed to her. The Town has a real sense of nostalgia to it, it's ultimately a film that finds a groove in it's sense of romance and emotional adventure. Jeremy Renner gives the best performance in the film, energetic and delivering a punch, his sense of brotherhood and on screen chemistry between him and Affleck is wonderfully convincing. It's interesting to note how much better played Affleck's scenes seem with the stronger actor in the film. Supporting actors such as Pete Postlethwaite and Chris Cooper really lift Affleck's acting game, which can't really be said for the scenes he shares with Rebecca Hall.
The Town is shot by cinematographer Robert Elswitt (Boogie Nights, Michael Clayton) who compliments Affleck's street wise, urban vision of communal decay. We get a sense of the city's residents really holding on to a connection for their home, even as they see it rotting away more each day from uncontrolled crime. One thing that could have added a fuller body to the some of the flawed scenes in The Town is if Affleck had more of an appreciation for sound design. The post-production definitely felt lacking.
It remains clear though that Ben Affleck, who certainly knows what he's doing behind the camera, is no 'one hit wonder' as far as a directing career goes. While I can't help but feel that The Town is a little bit of a disappointment compared to the spectacular triumph of Gone Baby Gone, I still found it solidly entertaining. It feels like a sign of things to come for Affleck, a signal of further promise, Ben Affleck now needs to be more aware of his limitations. In casting himself in his own film this time, it feels like he has spread him self thin, but the results are still impressive and The Town has got some mighty fine moments in it, which triumph over it's several stumbling points.
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Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
Comment by Matt Shea
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Comment by ShaunK
Screen Adventure
Having said that there are couple of problem I had with The Town, saying that, it's still a very respectable and solid film