Best of the decade: The Town (2010)

A review by Brooks Rich

I was dubious when in 2007 a film directed by Ben Affleck came out. I thought, 'how is this going to be any good? Ben Affleck directing? Come on.' Holy shit that film was Gone Baby Gone and if you have not seen that masterpiece track it down immediately. Affleck followed that up in 2010 with the equally fantastic heist thriller The Town.

Affleck plays Doug MacRay, a career criminal who pulls off a bank heist with his three lifelong friends. They take the assistant manager hostage but do end up releasing her unharmed. In order to make sure she doesn't know anything about their identities, Doug strikes up a friendship with the woman, eventually following for her. With an FBI agent played by Jon Hamm on his tail Doug must work to protect the woman he loves and pull off one final score, robbing Fenway Park.

This film is brutal. Affleck's crime films are filled with corrupt characters who use violence as a first resort and never stop swearing. The Town especially is a brutally violent film. The heists feel like real life bank heists. There's no Hollywood glamour to them. The heists in this film are reminiscent of Heat and that's not a bad thing.

I think Affleck has made two of the best films about Boston in Gone Baby Gone and The Town. Hot take, I think The Town is better than The Departed. I love The Departed but The Town feels more genuine to me and I sympathize with the characters more. The Departed always felt a little exaggerated to me. For some of the roles in The Town Affleck used real ex cons that live in Boston.

If you are a fan of crime films you need to track down The Town immediately. Gone Baby Gone and The Town remain Affleck's best films and they would make a great double feature.

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