The Town

By Janni

***WARNING: SPOILERS FOLLOW***

For years I complained about Ben Affleck. His acting (or lack thereof) has driven me crazy. He resided securely at #2 on my list of actors I can’t stand (second only to Nicholas Cage). Then came Gone Baby Gone.  In this crime drama he co-wrote and directed, Affleck completely surprised me with his behind-the-camera aptitude and made me eat my words that he wasn’t good for anything in Hollywood. Now, after seeing The Town, he has permanently removed himself from my “bad list.”

In The Town, Affleck not only co-writes and directs again, but also stars in the lead role. Initial props for taking on all 3 of those responsibilities at once. Additional props for somehow managing to not drive me crazy on screen. It is his best acting job to date, though that isn’t saying much. The downfall of his performance is his New England accent, which he somehow manages to botch despite the fact that he grew up there.

Affleck’s hand-picked cast is brilliant. Jeremy Renner’s performance as the dangerous yet faithful friend was one of the highlights of the film for me. My eyes were drawn to his scarily aggressive character in every scene he appeared. I was also pleasantly surprised by Blake Lively, who beautifully combined the apparent strength of a worldly woman who grew up on the streets with the pain and desperation of a woman who has been used and abused her entire life. Jon Hamm did a fine job as an FBI agent – but good luck not seeing Don Draper chasing the baddies.

The storyline of The Town, based on a Chuck Hogan novel, isn’t unique – bad guy wants to go good after one last heist, but the way Affleck directs the story makes up for its lack of originality. He does an incredible job of building and releasing tension throughout the movie and kept my attention with intricate heists, relational difficulties, and plenty of car chases and shootings.

One of my favorite scenes happens after one of the robberies, when the gang has just outrun the police. As they are getting out of the car, they finds themselves staring directly at a cop sitting in his police car. The tension lingers for a moment as they look at each other and then the cop turns his head the other way, acting as if he saw nothing. The social commentary spoken with one turn of a man’s head is absolutely brilliant.

My final thought on the movie is something my friend Adam mentioned after we left the theater. There is an interesting dichotomy between men and women in the movie. The dominant characters throughout the film are men. There are only 3 female characters. One of the women is talked about but isn’t ever shown (MacRay’s mother) who committed suicide after becoming addicted to drugs. Lively’s character tries to appear strong but is very obviously desperate, confused and used both by Affleck and the FBI. Rebecca Hall’s character is a kidnapping victim who doesn’t fight back or try to get away and is then used as bait by the FBI and subsequently discarded when they don’t catch Affleck. Charlestown is a man’s world where men are portrayed as powerful and intelligent, albeit sometimes excessively violent, while the women are victimized minor characters.  

Overall, The Town is another amazing movie directed by Ben Affleck. I hope he sees where his strengths lie and spends much more time behind the camera in the future.