Monday, October 18, 2010

Movie Review: The Town


After hearing how all of my friends and family back home liked The Town, the new movie starring and directed by Ben Affleck, I was looking forward to it coming out in Australia. I saw it over the weekend, and I must admit, all those aerial shots of the city of Boston made me a little bit homesick. The Town, unlike the recent string of Irish-American crime dramas set in The Hub, takes place in Charlestown rather than Southie. I knew that Charlestown was considered a rough neighborhood but wasn't aware of its reputation as a hotbed of bank robbers. The Town centers around of group of friends who make their living by robbing banks and armored cars. Ben Affleck's character Doug is the ringleader and the likeable one- we see that despite his trade, he's not a bad guy. On the opposite end of the spectrum is his best friend Jimmy, brilliantly played by Jeremy Renner- he's tough, unpredictable, and dangerous. Things get complicated when Doug falls for Claire, a bank employee they briefly took hostage during one of their exploits. I could relate to Claire as the suburban girl who moves into an insular city neighborhood. Overall, I enjoyed The Town but didn't think it was as original as his directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone (which is fantastic btw). However, it's definitely entertaining and worth seeing- especially if you're prone to smile at shots of Fenway Park and the North End.

4 comments:

Eri said...

Renner was amazing. I am glad you liked him as well.

P.S. You can look at Fenway in just over a week :).

danimal said...

The whole theater I saw it in here in NYC burst nto collective laughter at that last shot of Affleck standing on the water in FL, people yelled "You can't end a movie like that!" One of the most surreal movie going experiences ever.

Suldog said...

In future, please remember your roots a bit more. It is not "the hub", but "The Hub" :-)

eileen said...

yeah, the ending was a bit too Shawshank Redemption.

and Suldog, error corrected. My apologies!