The Town - Quick Review

So to save on time and effort I'm putting up a short review for The Town as I saw it recently and it just got a DVD release.

The Town follows Doug Macray who commits a number of bank robberies with his Charlestown crew and falls in love with a woman who they take hostage and let go in the first heist of the narrative. He wants to break free from Boston and start life a fresh with his new found love, but with a persistent FBI agent hot on his tail and a crew who won't let him go lightly, Doug has the odds stacked up against his fight for freedom.

So its a brilliant follow on from Gone Baby Gone even though its a very different style of film. The Bostonian setting is once again realistic and effective with the script written very much with the city in mind. There are so many little gems of Bostonian language that scatter the various scenes with humour and sharp dialogue. The cast is superb with Affleck leading as well as Directing and managing to hold it all together brilliantly. Kudos to Jeremy Renner (Hurt Locker) who is unnerving and unpredictable as Dougs best friend and gang member James. This is also one of the last times we'll see Pete Postlethwaite perform since his recent passing, he is utterly brilliant and growls viciously as the Irish mob boss Fergus Colm. The drama is superb and really sets the tone of the film but is broken up with style by three superb heist scenes. Each better than the other with the final filling a lot of the third act and seeing tons of gun fire. The slick editing and shooting style, along with the way the gang orchestrate their plans really make the scenes memorable, and very much pivotal to the story. This is well written and entertaining drama coupled with sharp and exciting action. Ben Afflecks 'Heat' if you will.

I really recommend this for a night in, it will suit most tastes and is a film I would gladly revisit.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Click for trailer