The Town not only establishes Ben Affleck as a rising movie director but affirms his reputation as a bona fide leading man.
The story is set in the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown, notorious for breeding bank robbers such as Doug MacRay (Affleck), for whom crime is the tool of his trade and the source of his livelihood.
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He works with a crew of other criminals, including his “brother” James Coughlin (Jeremy Renner). While robbing a local bank in Cambridge, Boston, James reacts violently to the pressure of the situation and takes a bank manager, Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall), hostage. MacRay plays the good villain and comforts Claire before the group lets her off at a nearby but secluded beach.
The film’s plot unfolds when the bank robbers discover that Claire lives only a short distance from them. To ensure Claire’s safety while trying to assess the extent of her cooperation with the FBI, MacRay follows Claire and incidentally, gets to know her as a person. Naturally, love blossoms. This development heightens the psychological and emotional intensity of MacRay’s predicament, placing him under incredible stress as the FBI closes in on them.
The movie features scintillating action set pieces—skilfully and meticulously constructed, compounded by a constant sense of tension as well as dark humor. But beyond all the action, the story is about the characters and the inevitable crossroads they come face to face with. You may come for the heists and shoot-outs, but you’ll stay for the tart, expressive story that goes with it.
All in all, The Town is a searing tale about a man brought up in the most dysfunctional of socio-economic circumstances, ushered into a life of crime he never truly wanted, and his search for salvation in the midst of his life’s maelstroms.
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