I hadn't been to the movies as much over the last month or so; between the play, the busy schedules of both myself and my movie-going associates1, and the fact there hadn't been that many movies come out in that time meant that the usual weekly trip to the cinema for some big-screen action didn't happen.
While I'll try to keep spoilers to a minimum, it's going to be pretty much impossible to not give away a little. Thee be warned.
1There are two, Chris and Miriam.
An easy decision
One film I'd been waiting to see, ever since I saw the preview for it a few months back, was The Town. It was about – well, at least what I gathered what it was about; as TV Tropes will tell you, never trust a trailer – a gang of bank robbers in Boston and the people trying to catch them. That alone had me somewhat interested; I like movies set in Boston – Good Will Hunting, The Departed and Mystic River are three in particular – and the idea of smart criminals always intrigues me (Heat, for example).
What put it beyond all doubt, though, was the combination of actor/director Ben Affleck, whose previous directorial work in Gone Baby Gone had impressed me; actor Jeremy Renner, Oscar®-nominated star of the Oscar®-winning The Hurt Locker; and the truly awesome Jon Hamm (Mad Men's Don Draper) and one of my favourite actors. Then there's Titus Welliver, who you've probably never heard of, but some who I like and who's been showing up in things I've seen over the last few years: tv shows like Life, Lost, Deadwood and Affleck's aforementioned previous directorial effort, Gone Baby Gone.
So, when it hit our screens it was only a question of deciding when and where.2
2Circumstances conspired that it would be at Palace/Nova on Monday October 25th, on the ExiMax screen - to be precise.
What I liked
Overall, I enjoyed the film. It was well-thought-out – something very important to me; I hate reacting to something with 'but...that's just dumb'3 - and kept me interested the whole way through. Most of the characters (more on that later) were complex, intriguing and believable.
There were some great performances, especially from Jeremy Renner as bank robber James "Jem" Coughlin – who was just scary and intense the whole way through – and a focused and downright nasty Jon Hamm as FBI agent Adam Frawley.
3What TV Tropes refers to as a wall banger.
What I didn't like
For starters, Blake Lively, who played Coughlin's sister, Krista4. Admittedly, that's nothing new; despite her fame I've never really seen the appeal on the physical level, and from the Gossip Girl episodes I've seen she's never struck me as being overburdened with talent either. But I assumed that to be cast in such esteemed company she'd have had to have some ability, and that it'd come out in this film.
Apparently not. While she wasn't on screen much, the few times she did appear she failed to impress me. Some of it may not have been her fault; her character wasn't especially well-written – which was another problem. Her relationships with the other two main characters (Affleck's and Renner's) are pivotal to the outcome, but this isn't developed or explored in any way throughout the course of the film, other than in a few scenes.
Pete Postlethwaite, who I've liked in everything else I've seen him in – In the Name of the Father, Romeo + Juliet and The Usual Suspects – also failed to impress. His character, Fergie 'The Florist' Colm is meant to be a tough-as-nails Irish gangster but he just comes across as a scrawny, unpleasant old man. His dialogue didn't help; it was unrealistic and undermined any chance of menace5.
There were some missed opportunities. The great Chris Cooper6 plays Affleck's character's father, but only appears in one brief scene. At one point Jon Hamm's character, FBI Agent Frawley, talks about getting the four gang members in grilling them in the interrogation room. But the only one 'interview' – the one with Affleck's character, Doug MacRay – is shown.
4Actually, I'd gotten the idea into my head that she was MacRay's (Affleck's character) sister - which would have made a few of the scenes much weirder, if you know what I mean...
5The gold standard for hard old bastards is, of course, 'Brick Top' as portrayed by Alan Ford in Snatch.
6Of American Beauty, Adaptation and Seabiscuit, to name a few.
The verdict
Despite the flaws I've noted, I did like the film and think it's definitely worth seeing.
It was good to see Jeremy Renner again; it would seem that his being cast in this means he's going to keep showing up in things. Similarly, that Jon Hamm appears to have managed the often difficult transition from small screen to large, which might mean interesting things for his career.
Plus it was good to see Affleck in something decent again. It's probably going to mean he's going to start showing up in more films, shaking off the bad reputation he'd acquired during the dark J-Lo7 period. Considering he's in a couple of Kevin Smith's better films - Mallrats and Chasing Amy - as well as things like Shakespeare in Love8, it's not as if he doesn't have the ability.
7I never liked her. On any level. Just so you know.
8Oh, and of course he was the bomb in Phantoms, yo...
No comments:
Post a Comment