Ben Affleck stepped up to the plate with his first major screenplay, Good Will Hunting. He received rave reviews for Gone Baby Gone, which he directed and co-wrote. But he really hit the ball out of the park this time by directing, co-writing and starring in what is definitely one of the best films of the year, The Town.
The theatrical trailers prepare the viewer for pure action, but a dramatic romance cements itself in the story as Doug MacRay (Affleck) desperately tries to escape Charlestown, Boston's crime-infested hellhole. Failing as a star hockey player, MacRay fails to leave the street lifestyle behind, one filled with violence and addiction. Now, he's the mastermind of a string of successful bank heists. His life of crime is going as planned, with his short-tempered wingman (Jeremy Renner) right by his side - that is, until he falls for the bank manager of one of his targets (Rebecca Hall) and realizes that he wants out. Leaving "the Town," however, is easier said than done.
Although Ben Affleck steals the show with his acting and directing, the rest of the star-studded cast is what sets this film apart. Rebecca Hall plays Affleck's love interest and establishes herself as a bona fide headlining actress. We know Jeremy Renner from last year's hit The Hurt Locker, and he gives us a very similar performance here, playing a rogue with the "do-it-my-way" mentality. Meanwhile, Jon Hamm plays the FBI agent trying to bust Affleck and his crew. The necessary good guy - or bad, depending on who you root for - he plays a character very similar to Aaron Eckhart's Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight. In Charlestown, Hamm's character is a shining light ready to take on the hopeless situation that surrounds him. Most notable in this film, however, is Blake Lively's breakthrough. Accustomed to her bubbly appearances in Gossip Girl and Accepted, I found myself asking, "Is that really her?" Her rugged attire, drug addiction and loose attitude made her a believable "bad girl" who is stuck in Charlestown like everyone else.
The Town left me analyzing everything by subverting the typical shoot 'em up action thriller. The beginning was everything we want in a crime clich
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