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Wednesday, November 17, 2010

[7.50/10] The Town (2010)


The Town (2010)

Adapted from Chuck Hogan's novel "Prince of Thieves", "The Town" revolves around Doug MacRay, born and grown up in Charlestown, a working neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts. It is an area where crime is part of everyday life. Charleston is basically the crime capital of the world, where carjacking, kidnapping and armed robberies are common things. Even more, the secret of the criminal crime are handled over from father to son. Doug is the leader of a bank robber group who managed so far to get out clean after every single bank robbery. Furthermore, MacRay gets romantically involved with a woman who doesn't know that he was her captor during group's latest bank heist. Just like his 'colleagues', George Clooney and Clint Eastwood, Ben Affleck is a much better director than an actor, and "The Town" proves exactly that. His second directional effort is arguably one of the better 'heist' movies of the last decade, as it's a smartly-scripted and subtly-photographed crime thriller, that while a bit moody at times, is consistently gripping and also quite intriguing to watch. The plot itself is nothing groundbreaking, but it's still solid and well-executed, and combined with some great performances and Ben Affleck's admirable directional skills, make this film a must see. "The Town" is generally very basic, visually, but very atmospheric at the same time, as the cinematographer uses pale colors and a washed out palette to create an atmosphere that feels quite appropriate for film's subject matter. Plus, the production design is excellent and complements the overall look of the movie. In terms of action, the chase sequences are brilliantly-shot and quite intense and definitely one of film's highlights. The acting is also one of the film's strongest aspects. Special mention goes to Jeremy Renner, who deliver a truly creepy and disturbing, yet incredible performance as the troubled James Coughlin, and he steals the show in every scene he appears in. Rebecca Hall's acting is nothing exceptional, but she does a great job as Claire Keesey, and she delivers a much better performance than her overrated Golden Globe-nominated turn in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona". Ben Affleck's acting is average at best - there's nothing wrong with it, but nothing memorable either. Jon Hamm is credible and very convincing as FBI S.A. Adam Frawley. Smoothly-paced, competently-shot and often intense, "The Town" pretty much has everything a proper 'heist' movie should have.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh yeah, I watched The Town a while back. I forgotten to write about it!

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

I watched it a couple of weeks ago, and I have to admit I liked it quite a lot. Ben Affleck has done a great job with this film.

Lesya said...

Haven't seen this one but the majority of reviews say that I should. Oh, and yes, that was an accurate observation that Rebecca Hall's performance in Vicky Cristina Barcelona was overrated (just as Cruz's, in my POV)

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Lesya, you're the first person who agrees with me about Hall's performance in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona", so thank you for that :) She was just okay.

As for Cruz's.. well I thought she was absolutely incredible! Her performance was so temperamental and full of different emotions, that it was a joy to watch. Thanks for the comment.

✗✗ said...

I have been meaning to see this one. I don't know why I have held back. It sounds pretty good!

http://www.electricdaze.blogspot.com

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Nicole, you should give it a shot. It was very well-made and thoroughly gripping. Thanks for the comment and welcome to CineMarvellous! :)