Worth a Look: The Town (2010)

 

Theaters are finally starting to open up after being closed for more than a year. But if you're still not comfortable going out in public and are still streaming your films at home, this series, "Worth a Look," might give you an idea of what to watch. These may not be the most critically acclaimed films. But they are still worth your time.

The Town

Three stars

Director: Ben Affleck

Stars: Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner, John Hamm, Blake Lively, Pete Postlethwaite, Chris Cooper.

Rated: R (for strong violence, pervasive language, some sexuality and drug use).

Running time: 2:05

The bank heist film can be approached from the angle of how complex a job is and whether the main characters are good enough at what they do to pull it off.

Then there is the cat and mouse game between the guy who heads the bank robbing crew and the federal agent who wants to catch him. This is the tack Ben Affleck takes in the film he co-wrote, directed and starred in.

It could be predictable, with lines of morality clearly drawn between the good guys and bad guys. But Affleck doesn’t take an easy route.

Affleck plays Doug MacRay, a Boston guy who hails from the Charlestown neighborhood. We learn that for some strange reason, that particular neighborhood has produced more bank robbers than any other location in the world. People are groomed for it, raised into it, follow their family members into the business.

Doug and his crew, which includes James Coughlin (Jeremy Renner), pull a job in which bank manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) is taken hostage, then set free after they get away. Doug is chosen to follow her and befriend her to see how much she knows about them and how much she’s cooperating with the FBI.

Doug is pretty level headed. He’s quite the contrast to his close friend Coughlin, who is trigger happy and a hot head.

We even see Doug sweet talk a nervous Claire during the opening robbery scene. Sure, he wants her to calm down so she can open the vault. But we sense there is a softer, more vulnerable side to him.

Meanwhile, Doug’s crew is being investigated by FBI agent Adam Frawley (John Hamm). Frawley is that type of agent who is dedicated to his career so much you get the sense he doesn’t sleep much and doesn’t have much of a social or family life.

But Hamm isn’t the type of good guy you necessarily root for. He has a mean streak in him and plays dirty; perhaps a necessary personality trait for his line of work. But there is a smugness about him that audiences probably won’t like.

And we’re not supposed to. As Doug and his crew set up for a couple more jobs before retiring early, we come to identify with him as the more sympathetic figure than the “good” guy Frawley. It’s a nice choice to challenge the inveterate practice of creating characters whose morality is often defined by the office they hold or the job they do.

As Frawley gets closer to busting Doug and his crew, Doug finds himself falling in love with Claire and wanting to get away from his life as a bank robber and establish a life with her.

He’s forced by the local guy who organizes all the jobs to attempt a really audacious job: robbing Fenway Park after a long homestand. But Frawley is just a step behind.

Affleck is rounding out into a pretty competent filmmaker. He’s good at building suspense and constructing scenes. He keeps the intensity high so audiences aren’t apt to let their attention wander.

Affleck even handles the violence well too. These guys aren’t modern day Robin Hoods, though there is the suggestion Doug does make the occasional charitable contribution. Their take is for them and them alone. Yet they aren’t ultra violent and aren’t bent on taking anyone’s live as some sort of trophy or calling card. They don’t even really fire away with their automatic rifles once the pressure and heat from the feds intensifies. This element is a necessity if there is any chance of the audience finding Doug even remotely sympathetic.

This is a smart, well crafted thriller. It finds a nice balance between giving the audience credit for figuring things out on its own and spelling things out that need to be. Affleck throws in a few nice subtle touches here and there that show a terrific attention to detail. Time well spent.