The Best 2010s Heist Crime Thriller Is Totally Missing From Streaming
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again and again: Ben Affleck is at his best when he’s directing, as he’s not a great actor, with few exceptions. The Town is one of those instances where his writing and directing are brilliant, and his acting isn’t terrible. This is why you should absolutely find a way to rent this film and watch it.
If you’ve seen it already, I recommend a rewatch. It’s one that has aged well.
A Native Son Of Boston
Based on the 2004 novel Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan, The Town is not exactly a true story, but it does provide insight into the real people of the Charlestown area of Boston. There, an unusually high rate of bank robberies took place, and Ben Affleck, a proud Boston native who grew up in Cambridge, decided to take on the project because he could research the area and its history.
The result is a tightly written, gripping, intense, and fast-paced film that has only gained more acclaim since its debut in 2010.
Friends In Over Their Heads
The Town opens up with childhood friends, now adults, Doug (Affleck), Jem (Jeremy Renner), Dez (Owen Burke), and Gloansy (Slaine), robbing a bank wearing masks. Clearly, they’ve been at this game for a while. During the robbery, Jem takes the bank manager, Claire (Rebecca Hall) hostage, despite Doug telling him not to. Jem later releases Claire, but Doug fears he’ll return to kill her for being an eyewitness.
No One Escapes Jon Hamm
Doug decides to follow Claire from a distance, just to make sure Jem doesn’t kill her, but unable to help himself, he inserts himself into her life. The two grow close and form a romantic bond. Meanwhile, as The Town unfolds, Jem is hungry for the next job, and his sister Kris (played spectacularly by Blake Lively) is hanging out in the local bar, still hungry for her ex — Doug.
As the four friends embark on yet another robbery, this time of an armored car, the heat is turned up. A special agent with the FBI, Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm), is closing in on them, and he’s figured out that the friends are tied to a local Irish mobster, Fergie (Pete Postelthwaite).
Spirals Out Of Control
Events spiral downward and out of control as Fergie threatens to kill Claire if Doug won’t do the next job, and Kris flips from flippant, back-talking barfly to scared informant when Frawley threatens to take her young daughter away. Watch The Town for these tense moments, for the dialogue delivered perfectly by Renner and Kris as they steal each scene they’re in, together and separately, and for an intimate look into a life you may never see otherwise.
Only Available Through Video On Demand
REVIEW SCORE
Ben Affleck is at his best when he’s either behind a camera, in front of a script, or both. The Town is a tribute to great filmmaking, and though it was on Netflix for a while, it’s now, sadly, only available through video on demand via Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, and YouTube. Still, it’s well worth the $4 to take this ride.
