Written by Ben Affleck, Peter Craig, Aaron Stockard
Based on the novel by Chuck Hogan
Directed by Ben Affleck
Starring Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner,
Blake Lively, Titus Welliver, Pete Postlethwaite, Chris Cooper
With his sophomore effort as a director, The Town, Ben Affleck proves that he is Boston’s consummate filmmaker, uniquely capturing the flavor of the city like no other.
The Town is Charlestown, Boston’s oldest neighborhood and the bank robbery capitol of the country. Affleck plays Doug, a former hockey player who never made pro and returned to his roots, falling back in with the neighborhood crew that he grew up with. Jeremy Renner plays childhood friend Jim, blessed with being both unbalanced and trigger happy.
With an FBI agent (Jon Hamm) getting closer to discovering the identities of the crew, Affleck begins to develop feelings for Rebecca Hall, a bank manager that was taken hostage during an earlier heist and the possibility of leaving the neighborhood altogether.
Affleck has constructed a first rate suspense film and perhaps the best heist film since Michael Mann’s Heat. Performances are first rate, with the best work coming from the intense and unstable Renner and Chris Cooper, who in one scene as Affleck’s father, practically steals the film.
After a summer of popcorn action films, Affleck’s The Town is one of the first Oscar contenders of the year and a must see.


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