Movie Review: "The Town"

Is it weird for me to say that I'm proud of Ben Affleck these days? I mean, I know he co-wrote "Good Will Hunting," and he did a great job in "Hollywoodland" and with "Gone Baby Gone," but for the gap between those sets of projects, he was mostly involved in crap. Poor guy.

"The Town" is based on a book called "Prince of Thieves" and was adapted by Affleck into a screenplay, which became the movie he starred in/directed.

He plays Doug, a bank robber, which is a common profession in the area of Charlestown, Mass. He's sick of it, though, and ready to get out. In one of his last jobs, his hot-tempered partner Jem takes a hostage, who they free without harming, but they discover that she lives in their neighborhood and has a good chance of figuring out who they really are. Doug doesn't want Jem to hurt her, so he takes it upon himself to "check it out" and make sure nothing is going to happen.

Guess what happens?

That's right, Doug falls for the hostage (Claire) and is further motivated to change his life. She's ready to pick up and go with him wherever he wants, but then Jem comes around and realizes that Doug is involved with the one person who can ruin everything for them.

Oh, and there's also Jon Hamm as an FBI agent who is breathing down their necks. (Side note: Every woman I know lusts for Jon Hamm. I don't get it.)

This is one of those stories where you root for the criminal to get away. People in the crowd literally cheered when Doug left a note on Jon Hamm's car: "Go fuck yourself."

Things don't go so well for the crew in the end. They are blackmailed into doing a super dangerous job. The jealous ex-girlfriend narks. Some people die (but not all. I'm not giving EVERYTHING away!) It's a bummer of an ending, but it's to be expected. I mean, they are federal criminals!

I really enjoyed it, and you will, too. Go watch it.

P.S. -- An exercise in the screenplay book is to pay attention to movies and see if you can spot the plot points at the end of the first and second acts. I totally saw them, right where they were supposed to be and at the time they were supposed to happen. I'm learning! :)