Review: Hitting THE TOWN on Blu Ray ~ Cin-e-Matic

   I started writing this to go with my top five list, and I realized that I had far too much to say about the film to fit into a few paragraphs. This is without a doubt, one of the best films of the year. The Town is an action packed, engrossing film that backs up its action with a solid story.

   The premise is simple enough, after pulling a heist, the leader of a team of thieves (Affleck) checks on a former hostage (Rebecca Hall) and falls in love with her. He hides his involvement with her from his best friend and partner (Jeremy Renner) and attempts to hide his identity from his new love and the FBI agent (John Hamm) pursuing his team. What seems like a simplistic and clichéd plot is actually one of the best films I have seen in years.

The Town is a masterful film based on the amazing novel Prince of Thieves. It is Ben Affleck’s second outing as a director, his previous film being Gone Baby Gone. Gone Baby Gone is a brilliant film, I honestly thought that the film might have been a fluke, it being Affleck’s directorial debut and being a good film. The Town however, proved me wrong. It shows that Affleck may be a better director than an actor. The film is beautiful, an immaculately directed picture that shows that it is a shame that Affleck has only worked behind the lens for two pictures.

   The cast in this film is amazing, which is notable to me since this is a group of actors that I honestly did not care for before this film. None of these actors has impressed me before in a film, yet here they all bring such power to their performances.

Doug MacRay-Ben Affleck

   I will admit, I am not much of a Ben Affleck fan but he is excellent in this film, you never once doubt his performance, it is safe to say that this is his best role thus far. His character is complex, fleshed out and well acted. Affleck shows more skill in this role than in any of his other roles. The level of emotion that he displays is amazing, some of his best scenes are the ones where he has no dialogue or is reaction to the actions of others. He tries to keep a strong front, but in some scenes you can see his facade of strength beginning to crack.

Claire Keesey- Rebecca Hall

   Rebecca Hall is likeable as Affleck’s love interest, but I feel that the rest of the cast overshadowed her performance. Not to say that she does not do well, she does, her character is a key character in the film. The level of maturity and common sense that she shows is a stark contrast to Blake Lively's character. She does possess an odd sense of vulnerability that engages your interests. Hall does well, her performance just does not stand out as much as the other actors.

Adam Frawley- Jon Hamm

   Jon Hamm does well as the FBI agent pursuing Affleck’s group of criminals. Even though he is the antagonist of the film, he does not come off as the stereotypical cop villain. Rather he is portrayed realistically. You do not hate him simply because he is the villain, you can understand his motivations and how he justifies his actions.

James "Jem" Coughlin- Jeremy Renner

   There are two performances that surprised me in this film. The first is Jeremy Renner, who really steals the show whenever he is on screen. His character is interesting, unpredictable. He is not the smartest or calmest person, but he is loyal. Renner gives what would have been a one-dimensional brutish character a surprising sense of depth and emotion. At first, he comes across as a brutish and greedy man, willing to strike the first blow to advance his goals. As the film goes on, you begin to see that many of his actions are also for the benefit of those he cares about. He is violent because he is protective, not because he is aggressive. I can honestly see an Oscar nod for his performance.

Krista Coughlin- Blake Lively

   The second performance that surprised me was Blake Lively. Lively plays Affleck’s ex girlfriend and Renner’s sister. Like Renner, Lively takes what could have been a static character and turns her into an interesting character. This is a woman who seems to always place herself in the role to the victim; she is the one that is always being used. Her character is not the most likeable in the film, but you understand her.

Fergie the Florist- Pete Postlewaite

   Pete Postlewaite also gives a surprisingly dark and chilling performance in a minor role as Fergie the florist. Fergie is a crime boss that basically runs Charlestown. I will not delve too deeply into him, because his story has a dark surprise involved.

   The crime/heist genre has varied over the years; the films in this genre can range from serious dramatic films such as Heat to more comical takes on the genre like Oceans 11. This genre is full of clichés that many films spoof or try to avoid. Rather than avoid the classic clichés of the crime/heist genre, The Town embraces and re-imagines the clichés. The last film I saw that attempted this and succeeded was Michael Mann’s Heat. It may seem unfair to compare this film to a masterpiece like Heat; to do so is an injustice to both films. Most reviews I have seen that mention Heat in comparison to The Town use it to criticize The Town. I however am comparing The Town to Heat in a positive manner. To me The Town actually surpasses Heat’s presentation of the crime genre. To me, the most important difference between the two is that The Town does not fall to the same shortcomings as Heat. Heat attempts to be this grand presentation of the genre, while The Town is a street level, personal story.

   It is odd that in recent years a subgenre focusing on crime in Boston has begun to develop. The best example of this would have to be The Departed, another would be Affleck‘s other film Gone Baby Gone. These films endeavor to capture the Boston atmosphere and dialect to add depth to what would be another crime fill. In both The Departed and The Town, the city of Boston itself is just as essential as the actors are. Both films feature the diversity of the city, highlighting its many facets. While The Departed focuses on the differences between social classes and environments, The Town focuses more on the blue-collar workers and the poorer areas.

   Charlestown itself is an integral part of the film. According to the film, there are, “over 300 bank robberies in Boston every year. Most of these professionals live in a 1-square-mile neighborhood called Charlestown." Charlestown is where the majority of the film takes place. It is a very interesting and bleak depiction of urban America. After doing some research, I found that the film accurately reflects the atmosphere of the neighborhood of Charlestown as it was during the mid-1990s. Since then, it has improved, but Charlestown in the mid-1990s is the time period and location on which the original novel was based. According to residents of Charlestown, crime was always an element of their world, yet the criminals and thieves were liked and contributing members to the community. An important aspect of the film seemed to be showing the world that this infamous area is not full of bad people, not everyone in Charlestown are murderers and thieves. The realism of the film is what got me. These thieves are not rich and glamorous gangsters, nor are they thugs. They are simply people trying to survive and the film does a brilliant job of presenting this.

   As good as it was in theaters, the DVD and Blu Ray version of The Town is even better. It features an extended cut that is roughly twenty minutes longer than the theatrical release. The extended cut builds on Affleck and Hall’s romantic relationship and further fleshes out her character. It honestly did not feel too long or put off the pacing, if anything it actually improved the pacing of the film. There is not much in the way of special features. There are two commentaries with director Ben Affleck, one for the theatrical cut and another with the extended cut. The commentary really provide some interesting insights into how the film came to be. There is also a feature called “Ben’s Boston” it is only about thirty minutes worth of behind the scenes features. There is not that much in the way of special features, but this film is good enough that it does not need a large number of extras to make it worth a purchase.

   The Town is one of those films that only comes along once a decade. I can honestly see this film getting an Oscar nod for best picture. Jeremy Renner definitely deservers a nomination for best supporting actor, his performance was nothing less than amazing. If you have the time, I highly recommend picking up the DVD or Blu Ray for The Town. If you do not have the time, make time for it, you will not regret it.