Career criminal Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) is leader of a tight, efficient band of thieves from the Charlestown district of Boston, a place where stealing is considered a fine profession for a young gentleman. On an otherwise routine bank job, Doug’s volatile partner-in-crime Jem (Jeremy Renner) takes Claire, a pretty bank clerk (Rebecca Hall) as a temporary hostage, not realising the girl is a local Charlestown lass. After the crew have made a characteristically clean getaway, Doug seeks her out to determine how much she knows only to fall for the girl. Softened by the romance, our hero wants out of the ‘life’. Can he escape the clutches of local kingpin Fergie Colm (Postelthwaite) while staying one step ahead of doggedly determined FBI agent Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm)?
Fame is a queer business. Not so very long ago Ben Affleck was an unfortunate punch line. He was J-Lo’s onscreen-offscreen squeeze; he was the child of arse-faced parents in South Park; he was a living, breathing joke. Nowadays, having recovered his reputation with a sterling performance as the late George Reeves in Hollywoodland and a fine directorial debut in Gone, Baby Gone, we’re not at all surprised to discover that Affleck’s sophomore filmmaking venture is of splendid quality.
True, the final heist scene is a little flat and the plot is rather familiar, but Affleck’s talent as an actor’s director is a thing to behold. Every performance in The Town is nuanced and affecting; every line of dialogue is beautifully and succinctly constructed. The casting, too, is impeccable. Expect to see Renner, Hall and/or Postelthwaite on the Academy’s shortlist next spring and watch out for Chris Cooper’s superb cameo as the protagonist’s convict father.
Remember when people used to snort that Ben Affleck had failed to deliver on the promise of Good Will Hunting? They’re not snorting now.