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Passengers and The Town

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Written by Jonathan Jacobs

The lost and unheralded film of 2010 was The Town, written by, directed by, and starring Ben Affleck. For a long time big Ben seemed lost in the world of all things J-Lo. He acted in dreadful films and lost his Good Will Hunting momentum. This may occur again if the rumors of Ben and J-Lo's reunion have any veracity. Sufficed to say, the studio sent me a screener of The Town last December. I had been busy reviewing a dozen other pictures and abandoned it completely. Last Saturday night as I relaxed in my hotel room I scoured the stations for something entertaining to watch. On HBO I found The Town in its nascent phase and thought how serendipitous that seemed. While I did not review the film for you before, and I apologize for that oversight, I would like to express my delight at viewing a masterpiece.

The Town is another bank robbery film and what could be more hackneyed than that? The difference here is this motion picture is also a love story and a tale of grinding on the fabric of friendship. Affleck asks us what constitutes betrayal and wonders whether lifelong friends owe each other a never-ending debt of gratitude or whether they should seek personal bliss in the arms of a lover. It is a movie about redemption, lost opportunities, tried and tested friendships, and grueling revelations that test a man's resolve. It also stars Rebecca Hall, Blake Lively, Jon Hamm and Jeremy Renner.

Affleck's character Doug Macray falls in love with the assistant bank manager (Claire Keesey played by Hall) that he and his friends robbed. Their budding love affair robs his Doug of his devotion to his best friends James and Krista Coughlin (Renner and Lively respectively). As the film progresses and James coaxes him into more dangerous, yet lucrative heists, Doug is brought closer to ruin. The Town is a moving film that deserved more attention than it received. Ben Affleck has been en fuego lately. I certainly hope that trend will continue for years to come.