The Town
Starring: Ben Affleck, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall
Say what you want about Ben Affleck as an actor or celebrity but the man isn’t half bad behind the camera.
The Oscar-winner follows up the brilliant Gone Baby Gone with a crime drama that’s exciting, tense and surprisingly moving.
Affleck plays Doug MacRay, a bankrobber who, along with his gang, terrorises Boston. When he falls for Claire (Hall), a manager the group takes hostage during a heist, MacRay is trapped between a rock and several hard cases.
Fellow gang member James (Renner) wants Claire dead, an FBI agent (Hamm) is closing in, while mob boss Fergus Colm (Pete Postlethwaite) wants him to take part in another daring raid. A storyline about a thug trying to leave behind his life of crime is hardly original, but The Town sucks you in with thunderous action scenes and some excellent performances.
Affleck is convincing as a conflicted crim but it’s the supporting cast that makes this a superior drama with Hamm, Renner and Hall breathing life into multi-layered characters. Affleck also puts together some thrilling shoot-outs, showing the sort of all-round skill as a director that suggests he may well be the next Clint Eastwood.
3/5
Good for: Those who liked Heat.
Watch The Town trailer here.
Review: Pierre de Villiers
