“OSCAR WORTHY”
Starring: Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner and Blake Lively
Directed by: Ben Affleck
MPAA Rating: R for strong violence, pervasive language, some sexuality and drug use
Genre: Drama, Romance, Crime/Gangster and Adaptation
Running Time: 2hr 14min
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
By John Delia
The Oscar race has just added a new candidate called The Town, a gritty gangster film that heats up the screen with crime and romance. The film gets top marks from this critic in all departments, acting, directing, cinematography and storyline. Although some may say that the film has flaws, I can’t find a contender this year that can boast a more perfect entrant into Hollywood’s most prestigious awards race.
The movie centers on a gang of masked bank/armored car robbers lead by Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) who’s cagey, ruthless and fearless. His ego for being the best at what he does overshadows the take from each of the jobs he plans out. The other members of the gang are tough and merciless as well with Jem Coughlin (Jeremy Renner), Doug’s ‘adopted brother’ being the most outspoken. One of their bank robberies take an unusual turn and the gang ends up with bank manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) as a hostage. After letting her go, Jem has a bad feeling about the woman and wants to rub her out. Doug feels that it would be dangerous and says he will deal with Claire. When his meeting with her turns romantic, Doug starts to take risks he had never chanced before.
The film gets very gritty at times with the chase scenes and robberies amazingly realistic. Although the movie does slow down a bit during the romance scenes, I still feel like the action never stops. Affleck and Hall have great chemistry together making their newfound relationship believable as an integral part of the film. But director Affleck does let that plot point play out just a bit too much in my opinion. It reminded me of the story of another bank robber, John Dillinger. This one detail did not taint the excellent script that continuously kept me glued to the screen.
The support players are all top notch with Jon Hamm and Jeremy Renner leading the cast for possible award nods. Hamm plays FBI agent Frawley with intense determination to catch the thieves showing his frustration
every time there’s a near miss capture. It’s the kind of torture in reality that the FBI must be feeling with nearly 300 bank robberies in Boston every year. As for Renner, I believe that this will be his second chance at an Oscar nod (nominated last year for Best Actor in The Hurt Locker). Playing the key character Jem, Renner pushes the envelope with a resolute performance steeling the film from Affleck at times and making his scenes frighteningly realistic.
Direction by Affleck is as good if not better than his Gone Baby Gone in which Amy Ryan was nominated for an Oscar. I strongly believe that his directing here will garner at least himself, Hamm and Renner attention for The Town.
The Town is rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, some sexuality and drug use all of which sets the mood for the realistic plot.
FINAL ANALYSIS: Definitely a contender for my top ten for 2010. (5 of 5)