The Town - (September 17th, 2010): R
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Opening Weekend Box-Office: #1 with $23,808,032
Domestic Box-Office Gross to-date: $48,692,072
Gross Revenue: $58,806,722
Budget: $37 million
Director: Ben Affleck
From a marketing perspective, the promotion for The Town was pretty straightforward, with trailers highlighting this newest crime-drama’s similarities to other classics, such as Heat or The Departed. Ben Affleck’s box-office draw has been pretty weak over the past few years, but after 2007’s Gone Baby Gone, industry reports raved about his ability as a director, generating comparisons to another highly-acclaimed actor-director, Clint Eastwood. Another significant draw for The Town came from the impressive supporting cast, which not only included Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), but also Rebecca Hall (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), Jon Hamm (from AMC’s wildly popular Mad Men), and even Blake Lively (from CW’s Gossip Girl). As I said in my review for Takers, audiences love heist movies, and whether they were dressed as cops or nuns, Ben Affleck’s crew was sure to deliver considerable action. Early reviews were incredibly positive, so even though Ben Affleck’s acting track-record has been pretty weak lately, I was still excited for The Town.
Based off of Chuck Hogan’s novel Prince of Thieves and set in the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown, The Town follows lifelong friends Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) and James “Jem” Coughlin (Jeremy Renner) as they operate as brutally efficient masked bank robbers. During the film’s opening heist, Doug’s crew takes bank manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) hostage, and even though they let her go, Doug finds himself attracted to her, and the two begin a relationship as she remains oblivious to the fact that Doug is responsible for her traumatic experience. It soon becomes clear that Doug wants to leave his life of crime, but between his loyalty to Jem and his obligations to local crime boss Fergie (Pete Postlethwaite), Doug is having trouble moving on with his life. Adding to the complications is FBI agent Frawley (Jon Hamm), who is chasing Doug’s crew with a shocking level of intensity. With all these different characters set against a volatile narrative, The Town is a truly inspired entry in the crime-drama genre that is sure to become a classic.
The most obvious positive aspect of The Town is its level of action and intensity during the heist scenes, which combine high-speed chases and brutal firefights to bring a sense of reality to the narrative…not that such robberies are an everyday occurrence, but that with enough planning, a crew such as Doug’s could pull it off. The acting is also surprisingly strong, whether it involves the chemistry between Affleck and Hall, the tenacity and determination of Hamm as the relentless FBI agent, or the subtly psychotic nature of Jeremy Renner, whose character has no qualms about solving his problems with a bullet. Ben Affleck also more than proves his talent as a director, smoothly combining all the scenes so that the narrative unfolds without effort, the cinematography complements the energy of the heists, and the dialogue helps audiences feel the emotional bonds of the characters and the rising tension between the crew as the FBI closes-in on their identities. And though The Town is primarily a drama, there are multiple instances of clever humor, which is more than enough to remind audiences of the humor that made The Departed so enjoyable. In the end, Ben Affleck’s newest film is surprisingly strong and definitely worth seeing.
The negative aspects of The Town are pretty trivial, but they are still worth noting. For instance, even though The Town ends up being a pretty engrossing film, it actually starts off pretty slow, which is strange when you consider that the opening scene is a heist…once the characters and setting are established though, you forget this weak point pretty quickly. And in terms of the Boston accents, some of the characters are pretty hard to understand, so I guarantee that I missed more than a few plot points. Some of the casting was also questionable…aside from Affleck and Renner, the film’s main crew is composed of unknown actors, which is pretty risky for a big Hollywood film, but to my surprise, it worked. As for Blake Lively, she was heavily promoted as a key part of the cast, but she’s not actually in the film that much, and even then, she only serves as little more than a background character…that’s just disappointing. However, in spite of these small criticisms, I still thoroughly enjoyed The Town and would recommend it to anyone.
From a box-office perspective, Ben Affleck more than proved his competency as a director, with The Town taking top spot its opening weekend with just under $24 million. Critics are still raving about The Town, and I expect its performance to remain strong for a while. With the summer movie season officially over, this newest drama proves that there is still more than enough draw for audiences to go to the theater. Notre Dame fans will also appreciate the subtle tribute to our beloved Fighting Irish…I know I sure as hell enjoyed it. Bottom line, don’t miss The Town, it is an absolute must-see
Overall Recommendation: Very High
