BECK AT THE MOVIES: 'The Town'
Well written characters Separate from Routine Heist Flicks
By Jeff Beck
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Richmond, VA (HNN) - "The Town" is Ben Affleck's second feature as director after his intriguing drama "Gone Baby Gone." He has shown that he has tremendous skills behind the camera and now he brings that talent to another drama, but this time, he's taking on a film that has a little more action, something that can quickly become difficult for someone not experienced with it. Yet, Affleck shows that he's more than up to the task.
The story is set in the town of Charleston, Massachusetts where a group of bank robbers, including Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) and James Coughlin (Jeremy Renner), have carried out numerous jobs. The film opens with them robbing a bank where Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) is the manager. Not knowing what to do with her, the group takes her hostage, but lets her go after dropping her off blindfolded near a beach.
Concerned that she might be able to lead the FBI to them, Doug takes it upon himself to check up on her to see if she knows anything. While at a laundromat, he asks her out on a date. The two quickly become acquainted and start a relationship. Meanwhile, an FBI agent, Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm), is on the trail of the robbers. He thinks he knows who the robbers are, but lacks the evidence to bring them in. Eventually, Doug reveals that he wants to leave town with Claire, but that may be harder than it seems.
At first, it looked like this was going to be another ordinary, run-of-the-mill heist film with little thought put into the characters and numerous actions scenes. Luckily, we get a little more than that. What differentiates "The Town" from other heist films, like the recent "Takers," is better written characters. They seem a lot more three-dimensional than most you would find in such a film.
This is greatly assisted by the fact that the focus of the movie is not on the robberies themselves, though those do provide for some thrilling sequences, but more so on the relationship between Doug and Claire. Doug thinks he is just checking up on a possible witness who could eventually lead the FBI to him and his friends, but it turns out to be much more than that.
Throughout the film, as they get to know each other, Doug slowly opens up to Claire, telling her things that possibly his closest friends don't even know. In one particularly effective scene, he tells her of the night when his father told him that his mother had left and was never coming back. This relationship becomes a sort of centerpiece of the film, rather than just having heist after heist with no character development.
Affleck and Renner turn in a pair of powerful performances as friends who think of each other as brothers. Affleck has shown that, when he has good material, he can give quite a performance. Renner, you may recall, also gave a good performance in last year's big Oscar winner, "The Hurt Locker," for which he was nominated for Best Actor. Late in the film, we learn of how these two characters grew up together from an early age. Affleck and Renner are able to show their brotherly bond quite well.
Another particularly interesting part of this film is the way these robbers pull off their heists. For starters, they wear a unique mask for certain robberies including a freaky skeleton and an elderly nun. They have everything pinned down to the letter, knowing exactly what has to happen and when. Then, when the robbery has been completed, they burn the environment of the robbery to remove any traces of their having ever been there. The same goes for the getaway car after they make their escape.
This all comes down to a third act that, for once, is not entirely predictable from the start. It's true that we get a shootout like we've seen in dozens of other films, but it is staged well by Affleck and makes for an entertaining and somewhat thrilling climax. Every once in a while, it's nice to see a film where you're not staring at cardboard cutouts that are on a path set out before them that you know they can't diverge from. 3/4 stars.