The Town
17/09/17 Filed in: Amazon Prime
We watched this 2010 film yesterday evening. The free offerings on Amazon Prime are not always that appealing but this turned out to be a good choice. The cast was fairly star-studded, with an interesting performance from Jon Hamm as a no-nonsense FBI agent, and Blake Lively as the somewhat down-market sister of one of the four criminals upon which the film is based.
We are told that the Charlestown neighbourhood of Boston (aka The Town) is renowned for producing armed robbers, generation after generation. One such group is shown pulling off a very professional heist. After 'convincing' the bank manager, Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) to open the safe, they escape with the money after first microwaving the CCTV tapes and dowsing everything they've touched with bleach, to remove any DNA traces. But one of the group, James Coughlin (Jeremy Renner), comes across as a bit psychotic, having needlessly assaulted the assistant manager after a silent alarm was triggered - actually by Claire Keesey. Another of the group, Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck), comes across as the brains and the one who regards a professional job as one where nobody gets hurt, which puts him at odds with Coughlin. He is therefore less than pleased when Couglin takes Keesey as a hostage as they escape the bank.
Claire Keesey is released unharmed but Coughlin has retained her driving licence, with a view to finding her should there be a need to keep her quiet. However, it was clear that during the heist, and later in the escape van, MacRay had become interested in her, so he offers to 'take care' of the situation, intentionally wanting to keep Coughlin away from her. This is where the main storyline of the film develops, as MacRay initially befriends Claire, and then forms a deeper relationship.
Meanwhile the FBI is closing in on the gang and MacRay is starting to imagine another life with Claire, but breaking away from the criminal life isn't that easy. For a start, MacCray has a sort of on-off relationship with Coughlin's sister Krista, an interesting role for the usually refined Blake Lively, and Coughlin sees that as a good reason for MacCray not to leave town, although MacRay doesn't agree. But more menacingly, Fergie Colm (Pete Postlethwaite), the local crime lord, bluntly tells MacCray that if he doesn't do another job, Claire may end up a victim.
The job is planned, but a now jilted Krista becomes the gang's weak link, and this is exploited by the FBI. The 'one last job' is always the one that goes wrong in this type of film, and this case is no exception. But will MacCray break free? Claire has by this time be told exactly who he is by the FBI. Will she forgive him? The odds seem to be stacked against them.
This is a decent film that received 93% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the audience not far behind at 85%. In the mid-1960s Affleck was an actor and stage manager with the Theater Company of Boston, perhaps explaining his interest in the town. Although describing it as the centre of armed robbery is perhaps not a good way to advertise it.
The job is planned, but a now jilted Krista becomes the gang's weak link, and this is exploited by the FBI. The 'one last job' is always the one that goes wrong in this type of film, and this case is no exception. But will MacCray break free? Claire has by this time be told exactly who he is by the FBI. Will she forgive him? The odds seem to be stacked against them.
This is a decent film that received 93% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the audience not far behind at 85%. In the mid-1960s Affleck was an actor and stage manager with the Theater Company of Boston, perhaps explaining his interest in the town. Although describing it as the centre of armed robbery is perhaps not a good way to advertise it.