The Town

What I can say about Ben Affleck's second film is that it is solid. I can't think of another word. The script was good, the actors weren't forced, the plot was convincing. Everything fell into place. This is a film that is good, but not memorable. I say that because it didn't grab my heart or make me change my ways. It was just a solid film.

I thought it was excellent how the plot worked Dougie into a relationship with Claire, seeing as though he robbed the bank that she worked at, and took her captive. In one scene, Claire is telling Doug about the whole situation, and how it haunts her. He says he's sorry, and she responds with "it's not your fault," the most ironic line I've heard in a film. What made it memorable was that we say that phrase all the time, and the writers of the script know that, so they exploited our conversations for his plot. However, it wasn't cheesy, and the actors played it normal.

I thought what worked for the film was the struggle within Doug of whether or not to tell Claire that he robbed the bank. The two get close throughout the film, yet in the back of his (and our) minds we know that they can only get as close as the space of the truth he won't tell her. She is falling for him hopelessly, and yet we know she will lose all those feelings if she finds out who he truly is. I related to this situation, because I can't tell my parents many of the things I do. And what's weird is that I want to. I want them to see who I am, but I know that they will pass judgment and/or make attempts to change me. They do not want anything less than a straight lipped, clean nosed, upstanding son. They can't see value in anything they don't take part in. I can't talk to my parents because I know they don't have any life experiences that I can relate to. They didn't "sow their wild oats," to overuse the cliche. They were too busy main-streaming the Christian crowd. Nothing I do can be shared to them, because they won't be able to relate. This is where I envy the character in "Easy A," because she could talk to her parents about her troubles and not worry about disdain. Granted, the characters were fictional, but there have to be parents out there like that, that understand their kids wild days because they had some of their own. And also, I know that what I'm doing is wild--it's just wild compared to the example I've been raised in.

I digress. The film had several shining moments, of which I will discuss two. The first is a scene where Jim meets Claire and Doug at a cafe. We know that Claire saw Jim's tattoo on the back of his neck during the robbery. If she sees it here, everything's done for. The scene was tense, and I found myself extremely drawn in. The second scene is when Claire and Doug talk on the phone with police in her apartment. Doug can see them, and we see that Claire is lying to Doug, but she doesn't know he knows. I felt a sinking in my heart, because I know Doug was feeling the same thing. Then, she lets him know that she still loves him and wants to protect him through code, something that the audience is in on. It was executed perfectly.

Overall, good film, one worth watching, but not buying.