Review of The Town (2010) by Cameron J — 18 Jul 2012

Man, looking at this film's poster, I can't help but think, well, Machine Gun Nun (If you were to remove the title from the poster, you'd think that this is the predecessor to "Hobo with a Shotgun"), but also about how Ben Affleck really loves his crime films. Well, at least when they take place in Boston, because just in case Affleck hasn't already gotten his point across through, well, every fourth film on his filmography that Boston can be borderline Detroit in some spots, how about he starts letting you know through every second or third film on his filmography? Jeez, Affleck sure knows how to hold a grudge when it comes to a city. I don't know, maybe he's just mad that his buddy Matt went to Harvard, and by extension, the good part of Boston. Ben, I know that you're angry and everything about Boston having some cruddy places, but dude, please don't drag us into your misery, because you're starting to convince us that "all" of Boston is worthy of summoning a, "Woah, I don't want to go there", from someone from Cleveland. Actually, come to think of it, Affleck can drag us into his misery all he wants, considering how good the films that come out of that misery are, and seriously, he needs an awesome Boston flick to make up for this one. No, I'm kidding, this film is still very good, it's just not "Gone Baby Gone", and for more than a few reasons.

To start my complaining with a backhanded compliment, Dylan Tichenor's editing is pretty sharp, though sharp in a similar way to the editing in "The Departed", and by that, I don't mean that the editing in this film is as good as the editing in "The Departed" - because as good as this film's editing is, it's still not "The Departed" good -, but that the tightness of everything will get pretty out of hand. The snap in the editing doesn't gel all that comfortably with plenty of relatively restrained spots in storytelling, and whether it be back-and-forth jumps between simultaneous events or just transitions into the next scene, there will be too much intense snap in the cuts, thus leaving them to feel rather inorganic and off-putting, throwing off the film's momentum more than ameliorating it. Still, if nothing else can be said about the editing - well, other than the fact that it's still pretty excellent and works fabulously in many cases -, it at least sparks up the film, yet that spark doesn't last forever, and once it dies, typically alongside intrigue in Ben Affleck's directorial atmosphere, the film slows down something fierce, and that's where this film especially slips up. Now, quite frankly, the two-and-a-half-hour-long director's cut may provide quite a few welcomed touches to the film, though it is still the slower version, yet no matter which version of the film you see, there's no escaping slowness, for although the film isn't a terrible bore, things do dull down and, after a while, the film simply becomes rather disengaging. Of course, what further disconnects you with the film are, of course, its conventions, for although the film has quite a few unique touches a dramatic crime thriller of its type, it will still make plummets into familiar territory, often in a passable fashion, and occasionally in a glaring fashion that further knocks you out of the film, though not as much as yet another fatal blow to this film: moments of unevenness in focus, for the film will hit many a moment in which is messily shifts its attention elsewhere and leaves many of the other story aspects to go messily pushed aside and lose steam. While the film doesn't at all wear it on its sleeve, it's a tad palpable that Ben Affleck really does want this to be his stellar follow-up to "Gone Baby Gone", and lord knows that I want that as well, and considering the majority's rule on this film, it sounds like Affleck's hopes became a reality, whereas I found myself wanting a bit more, though I still was not terribly surprised that the film turned out to be as flawed as it is, as I knew that it would only be a matter of time before Affleck really showed his limited experience as a director. However, as far as relatively new filmmakers go, I've got to say, Affleck still hits quite a bit more than he misses, and while he doesn't quite strike as sharply as he did with "Gone Baby Gone", he still crafts yet another rewarding film, and certainly yet another rewarding screenplay.

Ben Affleck's writing isn't quite as sharp as it was in "Gone Baby Gone", nor is it all that sharp by its own right, given its lapses into conventions, uneven focus and, well, even its delivering on dialogue that gets to be too snappy to the point of being rather unbuyable, yet when Affleck's screenplay does deliver, it hits home, whether it be through plenty of pieces of dialogue that really do snap in a believable and razor-sharp fashion, or through quite a few genuinely unique touches that earn enough of your investment in the film as a generally notable crime thriller, a position for this film that wouldn't be as secured as it is were it not for Affleck's direction being faithful to his screenplay in quality. Sure, seeing as how Affleck's direction is rather even in quality with his screenplay, don't expect him to hit quite as hard as he did with "Gone Baby Gone", or all that hard on a general standard to begin with, yet do still expect him to hit quite a bit, as he keeps the film compellingly believable for the most part, and will sometimes hit quite a few strong stings in storytelling, whether it be in climactic unraveling of events, or doing something as simple as delivering a pretty excellent opening heist sequence as an admittedly razor-sharp hook, which owes much of its effectiveness to Affleck's being, if nothing else, an excellent director of such particularly gripping moments as an action sequence, something that this film... actually doesn't have a whole lot of. Somewhat surprisingly, such relatively more intense scenes as action and heist sequences are pretty few and far between, yet upon their arrival, the film all but becomes golden, as the Ben Affleck directs these more intense moments pretty remarkably, really playing with the generally sharp editing to keep things engrossingly airtight, as well as with the also pretty sharp sound design to plant you in the scenario, and with the general concepts behind the sequences being so tightly strategic, yet intensely meditative, what we're left with are tense, believable and altogether top-notch heist and action sequences that really do wake you up for the few times they're active. Affleck crafts a film that is spotty, yet mostly competent, and while I wish that competence was used more to its full potential, it still makes this film a worthwhile one, or at least keeps you sticking with the film through tick and thin. Another aspect that makes the film as engaging as it is would have to be, of course, the acting, which is still with too little material for anyone to really knock you out, yet what our performers do get to do, they do with sharpness. Most everyone is charismatic, with quite a few people having moments in which they do, in fact, genuinely shine. Whether it be Jeremy Renner as an uneasingly mysterious and intriguingly disturbed, loyal and dangerous man, or a compellingly human Rebecca Hall as a relatively ordinary woman caught up in the traumatising extraordinary, or Blake Lively as one criminally underused and one seriously well-portayed druggie of a lowlife, or, of course, a charismatic Ben Affleck as our strong lead, there are plenty of standouts within this colorful cast of memorable talents, most all of whom feel tragically underwritten, yet still stand as one of the many undeniable reasons why Affleck's second outing as director and writer is a generally satisfying one, even if it doesn't strike as deeply as his first effort did, or as deepy as some of his future efforts probably will.

In the end, the film falls short of delivering as sharply as it should, whether it be because of such little things as sometimes off-puttingly overly snappy editing and the momentary collapses in conventions, or because of something as considerably problematic as lengthy periods of slowness, if not all-out dullness, as well as moments of focus unevenness that leave you to further lose total investment in the film, and yet, falling out of this film entirely is no terribly easy task, largely thanks to Ben Affleck's mostly clever and rather unique writing, really brought to life by his also mostly inspired direction, which offers up a consistent level of intrigue and certain high points - particularly when it comes to action -, and with a myriad of underwritten, yet still memorable performances rounding out the strengths, Affleck's "The Town" ultimately stands as a more often than compelling crime thriller that may not stand as a terribly awesome testament to the potential within Affleck, as a director and writer, yet still continues to pave the way to a promising future for Ben Affleck as a filmmaker.

3/5 - Good.