Jessica Says:
I just read an article in Entertainment Weekly where Ben Affleck said; “It’s kind of hard to disavow a movie when you’re the actor, writer, and director. You’re definitely all in.” The good news is he won’t have to worry about trying to disavow The Town because it’s great.
The Town is a movie full of actors I enjoy watching: Ben Affleck and Jon Hamm (both dreamy…I mean, handsome), Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall, Titus Welliver (the Man in Black from Lost and honestly, is there a cooler name?), and Chris Cooper. Ben Affleck plays the leader of a gang of bank robbers from Charlestown in Boston. Charlestown was apparently the bank robbing capital of the US back in the 1990s. Rebecca Hall plays the manager of the bank the gang robs at the beginning of the film. They are concerned she might be able to identify them after the robbery, so Ben Affleck’s character tails her. In the process of following her, they end up romantically involved and that relationship (along with other factors) leads his character to question his life choices. Jon Hamm and Titus Welliver are the FBI and police agents tasked with catching the robbery gang. Through the rest of the film you watch him struggle to escape the pull of his community.
One of my favorite little twists (not a plot twist, so not a spoiler) is that the hero’s best friend (Jeremy Renner) is also one of the villains of the story. Jeremy Renner, along with the entire cast, delivers top-notch performances, which must partially be a testament to Affleck’s directing ability.
Without giving away the ending, I will just say that I approved of it. I was nervous as the story progressed that I wouldn’t like what the ending might be because the truth is quite a few horrible crimes are committed by the hero of The Town and even though you know he’s struggling to change his life, I also felt like he and his gang should have to pay for their crimes.
Go see The Town this weekend. It’s deserves to have a decent opening weekend. It’s totally worth the full ticket price.
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