The Town

After years of scandal and a rapidly declining acting career, Ben Affleck made his way back into Hollywood by directing the brilliant Gone, Baby, Gone. Now with the release of The Town, he's proven to a skeptical audience that he still has what it takes to be a great actor and director. Unfortunately for me, though, I didn't like it as much as I thought I would.

The Town follows the story of four friends who, like many others born in Charlestown, lead the life of a criminal. They rob banks, stick true to their gang, their word and to each other. During a heist gone wrong, the crew is forced to kidnap a female bank teller, but leave her unharmed. Discovering that the cops have been attempting to contact her, the gang sends in their lead man to make sure that she doesn't put them in jeopardy. He inevitably falls for her and must balance out his gang's suspicions, his dangerous lifestyle and his possible life outside of Boston with her.

The Town is a very frustrating movie to me. The pace of it is absolutely glacial and I can usually tolerate films that take the time to concentrate on the characters and the issues that they have to deal with, but for some reason I could not get into this movie. Perhaps I had trouble following the film because I had been awake for 30+ hours straight and the misleading trailers made this look like a straight up action/heist film, but I wasn't engaged enough. I probably need to see this film again (as much as I don't want to) and get a better feel and point of view of how I feel about it all.

I write that The Town is frustrating because, aside from the boredom I felt, everything in the movie is fantastic. Ben Affleck is a very talented director and beautifully captures the city of Boston (especially Charlestown) with aerial shots and loving detail. He's also the best here than he's been in a while. Yes, the powerful, always kick ass Jeremy Renner practically stole the show, but considering Affleck's previous filmography (Surviving Christmas, Gigli, Daredevil), this is practically Oscar worthy. Everyone else in the film (Chris Cooper, Pete Postlethwaite, Jon Hamm, Blake Lively) are all very impressive as well. The character development is solid and like I stated earlier, the film really concentrates on these individuals, making them feel very real and authentic. Lastly, the action scenes are down right awesome. While they weren't as visceral as I had expected, they're shot and executed very well and sustain a certain realistic feel, while a bigger, more over the top action scene may just harmed the film in the long run.

Overall, The Town is a film that I respect and admire more than I like. Someday, I'll revisit the movie to give it the second chance that it deserves, but for now, I'm sticking with my opinion. I've said before that I think this movie would make a better book than a film. The dialogue and characterizations are rich in detail and emotion (it reminded me of a Dennis Lehane novel), so if that's what you enjoy when seeing a film, it's completely recommended, but if you're in dire need of a nap or are looking for a straightforward action flick, this may not exactly be your cup of tea.