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Directed by Ben Affleck’s
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The Town
Ben
Affleck’s first film, “Gone Baby Gone,” was a brilliant
translation of the Dennis Lehane novel about the
disappearance of a child, with a stunning performance from Amy Ryan (Oscar
nomination) and a very tight directorial control that let us see only what
Affleck wanted us to see, when he wanted us to see it. His
second film, “The Town,” is what I think of as the reverse of the
first. Instead of being about
solving an apparent crime, we are asked to follow a group of four bank
robbers (including Affleck and Jeremy Renner (who gave that amazing
performance in “The Hurt Locker”) as they try bigger and bigger
heists. Now the question is who
if anyone will get away with the loot, as they try to outwit Jon Hamm of the
FBI, who pursues the group. As he
and the cops get closer and closer my wife turned to me and said, “Is
Ben Affleck actually going to let himself be killed
in this movie?” Well,
I’m not going to reveal what happens, but without question “The
Town” has some marvelous moments of suspense for us. In the first heist, the group, all
masked, takes a hostage (Rebecca Hall), the manager of the bank branch. She’s blindfolded, but sees a
tattoo on the neck of Renner.
Later in the film, as she and Affleck are now lovers, probably the
most contrived moment in the film, she will have an opportunity to see it
again. Director Affleck handles
the moment with exquisite care (you can read how he did it in the New York
Times Online). The
group of robbers is under the direction of, of all things, a local florist
(Pete Postlethwaite), who also runs dope and has
connections to whomever he needs to set up the robberies; and as “The
Town” moves along toward its conclusion and the wheels start coming off
the tight group of robbers, the film loses its momentum and devolves into
standard car chases, as the only question remaining is whether or not Affleck
will survive. Considering how
dreadful the films this summer have been, with only the brilliant
“Winter’s Bone” to remember it by, “The Town”
is altogether a very good entertainment. |