After one of the worst economic recessions of American history, it’s not surprising we have indulged in this underdog story of modern-day bank robbers in Charlestown, Massachusetts. But it is not the archetypal Robin Hood character of the 1930’s that we fall in love with in The Town, it’s Ben Affleck’s generous portrayal of a young man hoping to change the tide of his life, hoping to make good. Or maybe we all just bear that same burning anger towards banks that we did in the Great Depression, making them a mentally satisfying target. All sarcasm aside, this film does not glorify bank robbery like Bonnie and Clyde, and it doesn’t excuse it; the hold-up scenes feel brutal and real, and criminals are cruelly efficient as they take down guards and cow others into allowing the robbery to take place. Here, bank robbery is the backdrop for a sort of redemption story. Violent crimes serves as the this man’s sin and this man’s burden.
According to
my Boston source, Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) is what’s known as a “townie.” He grew up in one city, the Boston suburb of Charlestown, and he has never left. Not only has he never left, but despite his chance to leave and make it in the NHL, drug addiction brought him home, where he picked up the family and neighborhood business of bank robbery. His accomplices are also Charlestown natives, one of whom, James Coughlin (Jeremy Renner), is like a brother to Doug. They form a close-knit group, and loyalty is one of their few virtues.
MacRay seems content to continue in this path, until he falls in love with a young woman, Claire (Rebecca Hall) who, for lack of a better description, is a good person. She’s kind, trusting, volunteers with local underprivileged kids, and works in the community garden. And while she is unaware of the connection, she is also the woman he and his crew abducted as a hostage in the recent heist. As FBI scrutiny on Doug and his crew intensifies, he begins to realize the untenability of his relationship with Claire. Their lives are incompatible. He is a violent felon, destined for prison like his father, and he is in danger of pulling her down with him. His solution: escape. Escape from his pursuers, escape from the pressures of his Charlestown “family” to continue his life of crime, escape from his sins. But as he and his crew prepare for one final score before MacRay can leave town, fate is not on their side.
Despite the emotional complexity of the MacRay, Coughlin, and even Claire, Ben Affleck’s The Town is wonderful in its simplicity. Its power is in what is not said and the raw emotion and frustration exhibited by its characters. The action scenes are intense and exhilarating and the film is entertaining; it moves, it explodes. Once again, without moralizing at all, Affleck has tapped a deep knowledge of a community to pry at human nature, to explore morality, and to challenge our certainty of right and wrong.
Definitely go see The Town while it's still in theaters. The action is well-served by the big screen and the surround sound, oh and did I mention the lead FBI agent is played by Jon Hamm? Yeah that's right, Don Draper from Mad Men. He looks kind of legit with a shotgun in his hands doesn't he?
