Is Ben Affleck the most underrated man in Hollywood? With every passing film he makes, it seems more and more true. The man won an Oscar for writing, has reinvented his acting career the last half decade, and has now become a serious director. Affleck made a string of bad decisions in the early years of the last decade, and it has haunted his career ever since. While his latest directing/acting job won't wash away that ill will for most, it is still another solid step in the right direction. The Town may not be the most original movie (or title), but it is such a solid example of the genre that it's worth watching.Affleck stars as career criminal Doug MacRay. Doug, along with a collection of lowlife childhood friends, robs banks. After their latest job they kidnap the manager of the bank (Rebecca Hall) in order to make a getaway. They let her go soon after, but she is very shaken by the experience. When they realize that she lives a few blocks away from their usual haunts, Doug decides to approach her to see if she can ID any of them. While she doesn't recognize him, he sees how affected she is by what they put her through. He begins to regret his actions, and she starts to fall in love with the man he pretends to be. The film follows Doug as he tries to balance his old life as a criminal, and the new life he wishes he could live.
Like I said, this is a film you've probably seen before. What makes it pop in spite of that familiarity is the acting and the visual storytelling on display. Affleck is very good as a man split between loyalty to his lifelong friends and his desire for a greater life. He allows a bitter anger to boil under the surface for so long, that whenever it bursts out, it is both shocking yet not really unexpected. The real standout, though, is Jeremy Renner as Affleck's increasingly disturbed best friend. Locked away for nine years for murder, he feels the world owes him something in return for the life he lost. With his grip on reality fading as the film progresses, you both hate him and sympathize with him. And then there is Jon Hamm as the man trying to take these boys down. It is a thankless role, but he makes it his own. He delivers exposition and banters with his partner like a champ, but we never really care about him. When will Jon Hamm get the vehicle he deserves? The man has the charisma and charm of George Clooney, and seems destined to be the next big movie star. The Town doesn't solidify that fact for him, but it seems to be only a matter of time.
Visually, Affleck seems to have grown since Gone Baby Gone. Where as that film had an often flat visual style, he takes some risks in The Town that pay off. One great little touch is the way in which he matches an early shot of a flashback of Renner murdering his best friend with another shot later of him arguing with Affleck. It creates a sudden sense of dread that hits you unexpectedly, making the stakes seem higher than they otherwise would. And the heist scenes, especially the climactic one, are electric. While they often seem to take a page from Point Break (the masks, most notably), they are still thrilling. You get the sense that anything could go wrong at a moment's notice, and the film could take a sudden turn into dark, unexpected territory.
I really just wish that all the pieces had been in support of a stronger story. After Gone Baby Gone, which had an air of importance and originality, this just doesn't feel like a step forward for Affleck as a director. And yet Affleck's visual sense is arguably stronger here than it was there. Ultimately it's a good deal of fun, which can never be argued with, and all the performances are as strong as one could hope for. The Town may feel like a place you've been before, but you won't mind going there again.
