MOVIE: THE TOWN
Image: Ben Affleck’s second feature The Town is a gritty but somewhat overwrought crime thriller which cements Affleck’s talent in orchestrating action sequences and directing an impressive ensemble cast. The film is stylish and well-paced without offering up anything groundbreaking.
Ben Affleck’s second directorial effort is The Town, a gritty and compelling crime thriller which follows career criminal Doug (Affleck) as he successfully executes bank heists with his team of professional bank robbers, all hailing from Boston’s working class neighbourhood of Charlestown. Echoing crime drama conventions, Doug encounters moral dilemmas about his choice of career, recalls his troubled past, and becomes romantically involved with one of his hostage victims (Rebecca Hall) in a contrived subplot fraught with sentimentality. While the film triumphs in its superbly orchestrated action and heist sequences, it suffers from its gratuitous focus on Affleck without giving much of a nod to the complexities of the supporting characters. This is a shame, given the terrific performances turned out by the cast, particularly Pete Postlewaithe as the local crime lord and Mad Men star John Hamm as the FBI agent alternating between good cop and bad cop. The Town isn’t a revelatory or innovative addition to the heist genre, but it certainly is enjoyable, well-acted fare with some wry humour thrown in. (LR)
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