The Town

 

Release date: September 17, 2010

Directed by: Ben Affleck

Adapted from the novel, “Prince of Thieves” by Chuck Hogan

Synopsis: Charleston is a blue collar Boston neighborhood that produces more bank robberies in one square mile than anywhere in the world. A bank manager named Claire Keesey is taken hostage after a gang of robbers breaks into her bank. They release her, but Doug McCray, the brains of the operation, can’t stop thinking about her. He tracks her down, introduces himself, and soon finds himself falling for a woman who doesn’t know that he is one of the men responsible for her recent trauma.

            Meanwhile, McCray’s band of robbers pull off another heist, but this time it attracts the FBI’s attention. Adam Frawley has been on the gang’s coattails for quite some time now and has his sights set on nothing less than taking each robber into custody. He enlists the help of Claire, and the tangled web of lies and secrets starts to unravel.

Review: When I saw the preview for this film months ago, I was thrilled to see a movie like this coming back into the limelight. Ben Affleck’s first directorial debut, “Gone Baby Gone,” was truly a showcase of his talents behind the camera. Not only did he direct this film, but he wrote the screenplay (but I guess we already knew he was good at that  . . )He has quite the affinity for showcasing his hometown of Boston, and he does this well.

Affleck has shown spotty judgment when it comes to choosing film roles over the last decade, but his portrayal as Doug McCray was truly inspired. He somehow makes his character likable, despite robbing banks and sometimes killing people. Jeremy Renner’s performance as Doug’s oldest friend, James Coughlin, will likely get nominated come awards season. He’s possibly one of the sleeziest members of the robbers, but he makes it so believable; you love to hate him. Coughlin was in jail for ten years after murdering a guy point blank when he was 18. When the film begins, he’s recently been released. The dynamic between Doug and James is an entertaining one to watch.

I was absolutely shocked by Blake Lively’s performance. I know her from Gossip Girl and the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movies, so I was hesitant to see how she would portray Kristin Coughlin, James’ younger pill-popping, promiscuous sister. Her accent was impeccable, her acting was actually compelling, and she looked horrid (which is never the case-she’s beautiful).

I thought the plot development was strong, but sometimes a bit slow. The film was much like “The Departed,” but not a crappy knock-off of it. The film was impeccably cast, well written with sound plot development, and entertaining. I honestly can’t wait to see it again! I’m also about to start the book, so I’m interested to see how well the two compare.

UPDATE: After reading the book, I'm even a bigger fan of this film. I read that the original cut of the movie was four hours long because Affleck filmed every aspect of the novel. Obviously the studio wasn't going to let him release a movie that long, so he cut it down to two hours and five minutes within two days. He cut out a lot of character development, but that's to be expected with films based off of novels. The ending in the book is much different than the film: In the end of the book MaCray is shot when escaping from Fenway Park, goes to Claire's house to declare his love, and dies in her arms. The ending in the book is obviously more poetic, but apparently it didn't test well with audiences. Not only do I recommend seeing the film, but if you have the chance read the book. Hogan writes in the Boston accent (which can be tiring at times) but it truly enhanced my appreciation for the story.