Review: The Town

After spending several years in the wilderness, Ben Affleck's reinvention of himself is almost complete. After directing the superb Gone Baby Gone and putting in an impressive turn in last year's State of Play he takes triple duty in writing, acting and directing his Boston-based crime thriller The Town. Affleck plays Doug McCray who, along with Jermey Renner's James, is a career criminal and the film kicks off with a bank roberry. It is during that robbery that Doug meets bank teller Claire, later they begin a romance with her unware of his true identity. Doug's relationship with Claire makes him reconsider his life of crime but he is coerced into two more jobs firstly by James and then by the sinister crimelord 'The Florist'. Doug's life is further complicated by F.B.I. agent Adam Frawley who is on Doug's case right from the opening frame. As the final roberry takes place Frawley realises this is his last chance to catch Doug so he uses some underhanded tactics in order to get his man.

The Town is an enjoyable, if uneven, crime film that harks back to such classics as The French Connection. The audience is drawn in straight away thanks to the opening robbery being so gripping however the pace slows down afterwards as we explore Doug's relationships with Claire, James and James' sister who is Doug's sometimes girlfriend. However from the second robbery onwards the tension builds up as the cat and mouse story between Frawley and Doug really kicks into play and the final set piece around Fenway Park is truly spectacular. However there are some cliched and clunky moments throughout most notably the 'criminal who wants to leave the world behind' and the Shawshank Redemption-esque ending. Ben Affleck gives a competent performance from both sides of the camera because of the script he never makes Doug a one-note character and instead offers us a thorough insight into his life. Jeremy Renner is amazing as the slightly sinister James who on the surface is tough-as-nails but at the same time has very strong loyalties. Pete Posslethwaite is truly terrifying in his few scenes as The Florist while Rebecca Hall moves even closer to becoming a Hollywood leading lady. However it is Jon Hamm who gets the scenery chewing award as he truly relishes some of his more over-the-top lines as FBI Agent Frawley. The only week link is Gossip Girl's Blake Lively, as James' sister Krista, her attempt at a Boston accent makes Ray Winstone in The Departed look like a Boston native. And because she's really trying hard to 'act' its hard to understand anything that she actually says.

Despite its flaws The Town is a very good piece of film-making with all round decent performances from its impressive ensemble cast. If only the ending had been a little less clunky it may have been one of the films of the year but instead it's just a good honest film.