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September 17, 2010
Review - " The Town "  -  (in theaters) By Roland Hansen
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than meets the eye, and even though Ben's character is clearly the focus of the film, it all plays out like a brilliant ensemble, in
which each actor/actress does their best to give us an wide-eyes view into the mind of their alter egos, and ultimately have us
feeling sympathy for even the lowliest of dirt.

This is made even better by the films wonderful sequences of action, so fast-paced in tense that it has you sitting on the edge
of your seat (I know I was), just waiting to find out who, if anyone was going to die, and secretly praying that they wouldn't,
even though we've all been shown what horrible people they all are.



























This film is brilliantly simplistic, in  it's style, in it's story-telling, in it's cinematography, and even in it's pacing. Most films of this
genre, even at a slim 1 hour 30 minute running time can feel overlong, and have me constantly checking my watch to see if
it's almost over (which is never a good thing). Yet, at a full two hour running time, Affleck manages to keep the film brisk, and
keep me, the audience member invested, right up until the film's epically beautiful (and once again, brilliantly simplistic) finale.

The Town has everything one could ask for: a solid story, a superb cast playing interesting and well-drawn characters, pulse-
pounding action, and the element of surprise. It’s violent, visceral, and completely captivating. I urge you all to go out and
support this film; it's already proven a hit with an estimated opening weekend that nears $24 million, but the film deserves to
make so much more; it's a film that you should most definitely keep an eye out for come Oscar season, and a film worth any
genre fan's cash, be it of the Heist or Drama camp.
The Town
Directed by: Ben Affleck
Starring: Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner, Blake Lively, Rebecca Hall, Jon
Hamm, Chris Cooper, Pete Postlethwaite

Ben Affleck has he solidified himself as an up-and-coming director to
watch with 2007's infamously Oscar snubbed film "Gone Baby Gone".
This week however he's looking for a second shot at that gold statue
with his heist-laden drama "The Town", starring the increasingly
in-demand Blake Lively and Jeremy Renner, the beautifully sombre
Rebecca Hall, the rather intimidating John Hamm and of course, Ben
Affleck himself. It's the tale of a long-time thief living in the so-called
"Bank Robbery Capital of America" Charlestown, who tries to balance
his feelings for a bank manager connected to one of his previous
heists with his need to elude an FBI agent looking to bring down him
and his crew, all the while he plans his next job.

Affleck has a real flair for directing, and quite honestly, I'd love to see
him do it more often. Don't get me wrong, he's shown some incredible
acting chops in the past (and this film only furthers my respect for him
as an actor), but the way in which he executes scenes of action and
drama, with such precision and elegance...well it's simply
breath-taking. This is the kind of story that in the hands of a lesser
director, could have easily been chalked up as another "Heat" or "The
Departed" knock-off (two films which Warner Bros. annoyingly
compared it to in their marketing), but Mr. Affleck knows how to
separate himself from the pack.

For one thing, the characters  he's crafter here are so much more