The Town

Ben Affleck’s follow-up to his stunning directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone, is a thrilling crowd-pleaser based on Chuck Hogan's 2004 novel Prince of Thieves. Affleck stars as a longtime thief who is looking for his chance to get out of life. Sharper and less damaged than the rest of his Charlestown crew, Affleck’s Doug MacRay is involved with a bank manager named Claire (Rebecca Hall), whom the disguised crew took hostage during a robbery. Hoping to learn what she's told the hotshot FBI Agent (Jon Hamm) on their case, Doug's feelings for Claire begin to threaten the interpersonal dynamics between him and his lifelong friends.

The movie is packed with terrific performances, especially Jeremy Renner as the old friend closest to Doug, Blake Lively as Doug's former girlfriend, and Pete Postlethwaite as Fergus "Fergie" Colm, a local Irish mobster who fronts as a florist, has a history with Doug's family, and forces him to take on a nearly impossible "one last big score." Renner should get the award for Best Boston Accent by a Non-Bostonian Actor in a time when cinemas were thick with Boston crime pictures, "triple decker dramas," and Boston No-"R". Lively doesn't nail the accent, but she embodies the drug-addict, aging sexy townie girl role to a tee, giving a solid performance in a key role that could have ended up a bag of bad clichés. Postlethwaite was actively dying of pancreatic cancer while making this movie, the last released during his lifetime. He's able to make his frail frame and gaunt face feel even more threatening and sinister than when he was in good health.

The film uses Boston locations and, especially, the streets, better than any other movie I can think of. Everything builds to a massive climax, a 3.5 million heist at Fenway Park, that feels completely authentic in terms of locations, extras, logistics, everything. The Town is one of those action movies you enjoy when you first see it, but grows more and more enjoyable with each rewatch, and you appreciate the details in the writing, direction, production, and action all the more.