"authenticious" The Town Review

       The Town is the second directorial effort from Ben Affleck and as the title goes 'the' denotes the exclusivity because this is not just any town, but Charlestown Boston 'robbery capital of America'. Affleck also takes centre stage as the titular anti-hero Doug Macray and seemingly reluctant leader of his crew, that pull bank and truck 'jobs' for the local Irish gangster boss Fergie (Pete Postlethwaite).

The film is rife with believable backstories of dysfunction, such as Doug's father doing time (Chris Cooper) and the mother that left them both when he was a child, and the motivations of each crew member a picture, mostly grim is painted of the town they grew up in. Affleck has crafted a meticulously detailed and atmospheric story ripe with the authenticity of the Boston crime world, hiring non-actors to fill the shoes of some characters such as Fergie's bodyguard, and whenever possible using Charlestown's various localities.

This is a realistic picture, from the opening bank heist Affleck has spared no detail, and it is fascinating to get an idea of how exactly professional bank robbers would work in the real world; quickly, precisely and smartly, 'the no screwing-around crew'.  This level of detail is reminiscent of other thinking-man heist films such as Spike Lee's Inside Man.

After the initial heist Doug befriends and falls in love with his victim Claire (Rebecca Hall), the bank manager he took hostage only to quietly release; of course his identity was concealed at the time and despite the little chemistry between both actors, the relationship works as the vulnerable bonds with the vulnerable.

Pursuing Doug and his men is the FBI agent Adam Frawley (John Hamm) who uses every by-the-book methods possible to track where they are and catch them in the act. He is merely doing his job and his characters personality and growth does not deviate from his job description.

Jeremy Renner of The Hurt Locker fame plays James Coughlin and is essentially a spanner in the works as his killer instinct takes precedent in nearly every scenario, which ramps up the tension, particularly when he stumbles across Doug and Claire having lunch, he practically interrogates her and puts the pressure on Doug with lines like 'this guys a workaholic he takes his work home with him' and cannot hold back who he is or his emotions while Doug can, despite their strong relationship as partners in crime.

The film while poignant and at times melodramatic is also loaded with well-shot action scenes that bring a lot of tension. A car chase in particular was a standout moment for the film and the genre, as it was a believable desperate snatch-and-grab scenario that had the crews' driver outrun the police, by taking significant damage to the car as it hit many objects, other cars fenders etc as it would in real life and not simply careen every corner with no issue.

Through some rash decision making made by Doug such as planning on running away with Claire and ignoring his ex-lover Krista (Blake Lively) he quickly becomes more of a 'good' guy as the lines begin to blur. He must however do one last high risk job as Adam is hot on their trail after he gets to, and manipulates Krista to spill the beans of Doug's operation as she is jilted by him.

The film concludes with a bang, many to be precise as a new meaning to assault is delivered satisfyingly and painfully realistic, and a very cunning exit strategy is formed, in which there is closure, grief, vengeance and the town, Charlestown actually benefits, and to understand what that means, see the movie.