THE TOWN

I must confess that I have yet to see Ben Affleck’s directorial debut “Gone Baby Gone”, but if it is as good as his second film (and by all accounts it is), it is definitely something that I am looking forward to catching up with.  I must first make mention that I have only seen the two hour theatrical cut of this film.  Ben Affleck’s original cut went three hours, but the studio told him to cut it down, which he did to a two and a half hour version.  This time he was told that they would not release the film if it had a running time longer than two hours, so Affleck reluctantly cut the film again, on the agreement that the two and a half hour version would be included on the blu-ray, which it is. 

With all that said, the theatrical version is still one hell of a movie.  Ben Affleck just seems a natural behind the camera, and he also seems confident in the decisions he makes.  Thankfully, he has an great eye on how to shoot action (which this film has a lot) too.  He is not one of those directors that use the shaky-cam technique for action, causing confusion and nausea in the audience.  His action is very easy to follow, and you always know what is going on.  He also appears to direct great performances from his cast, as everyone in this film (Affleck, himself, included) give very honest performances, though the standout is Jeremy Renner, as Affleck’s childhood friend and the powder-keg in the gang. 

The story is about a group of bank robbers who during one robbery take hostage the female assistant manager (Rebecca Hall) of the bank, dumping her on the beach unharmed after she has finished being useful in their escape.  Even though she was blindfolded the whole time, and the gang were wearing masks, paranoia sets in, and the gang want to make sure the woman saw nothing to give them up.  The leader of the gang (Affleck) meets her in a laundry, and builds a friendship with her, and eventually falls in love with her.  He decides to get out of the business and of Charlestown itself, but is ultimately drawn in to doing one final job, all the while trying to protect his identity from his girlfriend. 

That is a really basic synopsis of the film, because it deals with a lot more than that such as the human relationships of the gang, the effects the trauma of being kidnapped has on someone, as well as the loss of parents at an early age.  Obviously, I was blown away by this movie and by Ben Affleck’s directorial talents.  I know that some people are labeling this film as being just another “Heat” rip-off, but with a film this good, who cares if it shares similar story points as another great film.  I look forward to watching the longer cut in the future.

Ranked 19 in Top 25 of 2010