REVIEW: Affleck succeeds as director, not actor
Ben Affleck showed his potential to be a great director in “The Town.”
His directing skills were first put on display in 2008 with “Gone Baby Gone,” which was well received, and left moviegoers considering the possibility of Affleck as a serious movie maker. “The Town” is definitely a step in the right direction for Affleck’s directing and writing career.
“The Town” is a drama based on the Chuck Hogan novel “Prince of Thieves,” about the people living in a one square-mile neighborhood in Boston called Charlestown.
Charlestown is known for bank robbers and narcotics. The inhabitants thereof are often trapped in the neighborhood web of crime, and never get the chance to leave and better their lives.
“The Town” puts its main focus on the life of Doug MacRay (Affleck) and his band of bank robbers. Doug is a life-long native of Charlestown, and like the rest of the town, he had a rough upbringing.
What separates Doug from the other criminals of Charlestown is his genius and organization. He thinks every heist through and performs with efficiency to ensure he and his crew avoid being caught.
While Doug seems to rise above the average Charlestown criminals, his best friend and partner in crime Jimmy Coughlin (Jeremy Renner) is the epitome of the town’s hardened and violent men. He served nine years behind bars and holds a strong loyalty to his family and his hometown.
His sister Krista Coughlin (Blake Lively) also serves as a prime example of the filth of Charlestown. She has a romantic history with Doug, and has one child. She is effectively presented as a classless drug addict with the rough inner-city attitude that is expected from a girl with her background.
Early in the film, Doug finds himself romantically involved with Claire Keesey, (Rebecca Hall) manager of the bank that Doug and his crew stand up in the first scene of the movie.
Claire is a foreigner to Charlestown, and of course does not know this is the same man who caused her so much emotional pain. Their romance is kept quiet by Doug to avoid conflict with Jimmy and the others.
The storyline of “The Town” was well-conceived, though I have not read the novel, so I am not sure which writer deserves more credit: novelist Hogan or screenplay team Affleck, Peter Craig and Aaron Stockard.
Either way, the movie had a great script, but it did contain a few one-liners and sayings that didn’t flow very well, especially from FBI Special Agent Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm).
Agent Frawley is the man who pursues Doug and his gang throughout the film. To me his character was sort of a failure all together. I couldn’t decide if he was supposed to be an upbeat all action kind of cop or a laid back one with a more serious undertone.
It was like he was flipping between the two throughout the movie and he couldn’t find a believable balance. I also think Hamm is the wrong actor for this role. I just couldn’t take him seriously, and found him to be boring.
Another actor who bothered me throughout the film was Affleck. I have seen him in other movies and I consider him to be a very talented actor, but for some reason, he struggled here. Maybe it was because his focus was on doing a phenomenal directing job, but whatever it was, it just didn’t work for me.
One big thing that surprised me was his Boston accent seemed so fake to me. Affleck is a Boston native, so that shouldn’t be an issue, but it was. I think the issue was partly caused by an attempt at extra attitude in his voice, but it threw off the whole persona.
There were a few other problems such as the dragging length of the movie, and the ending, which was pathetic at best.
Yet within these problems, there were a few gems, such as the acting of both Lively and Renner. Renner has definite potential to have a great career in Hollywood.
The same can be said even moreso for Lively. She took this minor role and ran with it. She proved that she is more than just a pretty face from “Gossip Girl.” I can’t wait to see her in future roles.
Other great things in this movie were the action scenes, such as a memorable car chase through the narrow streets of historic Boston. Unfortunately, the adrenaline-pumping scenes were few and far between.
It also must be said that the cinematography and editing crews earned every cent they made. They did a fantastic job.
Overall, “The Town” was an excellent film, but it still didn’t live up to the potential its storyline gave it.
–jace.smellie@aggiemail.usu.edu