Look who’s Back from Town

After winning a screenwriting Oscar in 1997 for co-writing “Good Will Hunting” (with his childhood friend Matt Damon), Ben Affleck rocketed to the front of every A-list and became one of Hollywood’s resident hunks. But by 2005, after a couple of high-profile relationships and breakups (Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Lopez), a quick stint in rehab, and a series of critical and box office catastrophes (“Pay Check,” “Daredevil,” “Gigli”) Ben Affleck was an industry joke.


We began to question, He took some time off, did some decent acting jobs (such as his still-underrated performance in “Hollywoodland”), and then did something that seemed certain to cement his status as a Hollywood bust…direct.

But contrary to every expectation in the head of every critic or industry expert, 2007’s “Gone Baby Gone” wasn’t a disaster at all. Actually it was a triumph; a robust and artistically satisfying thriller that showed there may be more than a few thoughts sloshing about in his well-coifed head.

Now Affleck’s back with “The Town,” a full-bodied, highly-entertaining heist picture that despite some familiar story tropes is told with a swagger and a flavor that meets all expectations and exceeds them.

Affleck stars as Doug McCray a second-generation bank robber who, despite his best efforts to get out of the family business, keeps getting dragged into one job after another. After one such robbery, after one of his cohorts, the hotheaded Jem (Jeremy Renner) briefly takes Claire (Rebecca Hall), one of the bank managers hostage. When they realize she lives in the neighborhood, tensions begin to rise.

Did she see anything she could tip off to the police? Will she be able to identify them?

Instead of just killing her and quickly eliminating any potential snags, Doug decides to check her out. The two eventually fall in love, of course, not knowing his true identity.

The film is also filled out with many of the other familiar characters in this kind of story: the gruff, no-excuses FBI agent (“Mad Men” star Jon Hamm), the grungy, drug-addled, ex-girlfriend and mole (“Gossip Girl” star Blake Lively), and the ever-present boss man (Pete Postelwaithe). The film offers such nice surprises throughout that it’s hard to pick just one or two.

Affleck shot and paced this picture with such a refreshing realism that you can’t help but fall for the antics of these amoral characters. You’re not overpowered by the explosions and ridiculous stunts, but the characters and their story are left center stage. The city of Boston is shown in such a reverent light, but Affleck doesn’t mind showing the grimy and the unlikable. And for a film with such a masculine edge, the love story is shockingly tender.

Affleck’s direction is efficient and clean, and so is his acting. This is the best performance Affleck has ever given as an actor. He holds his scenes with such an authority and connectivity audiences have never seen in at least a decade. Renner on the other hand is nowhere near as together or controlled; he’s a wild, loose cannon with guns and tempers a blazing. Even without his stature and similar facial features, he’s reminiscent of a younger James Cagney, all fire and music.

The circumstances that lead up to the final showdown between cops and crooks is a bit convenient for my taste, and towards the end I feel like the characters, despite the actors best efforts, don’t move much beyond their preordained types.
But after a summer film season of the overblown and generally stupid, “The Town” is a pulpy, stark film that finds a rhythm of the streets and the minds of the robbers. Run don’t walk to “The Town.”
Grade: B+