The RPM Show

By Adam Miller

Ben Affleck proves he is the new Eastwood with The Town

Ben Affleck has had a very noteworthy career since his beginnings as an actor. He won an Oscar for writing the year’s best screenplay along with Matt Damon for the 1997 film Good Will Hunting. Then he became a huge box-office star with a string of films that include Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, Daredevil and The Sum of All Fears. But then in 2003, his career took a huge nose dive and turned him into “box-office poison” with the release of a film called Gigli. That film has been named one of the worst ever made and pretty much damaged Affleck’s reputation as an actor. Then he decided to explore directing as a way of bringing back his career. His first attempt, 2007’s Gone, Baby, Gone, was a critical and commercial success. But with this new film, Affleck proves that he is the new Clint Eastwood.

For this film, Affleck does triple duty. He not only is the star of the film but he is the co-writer and the director. The story takes place in a suburb town in Boston called Charlestown, which is a town where crime is a part of life. Affleck plays Doug MacRay, a career criminal who learned his ways from his father (Chris Cooper), and is the leader of a gang of bank robbers. These guys have been able to come out clean of every robbery they commit and leave no evidence. Doug believes that his luck will eventually run out. In so doing he is looking to make one last heist that will allow him to leave his life in Charlestown behind. But his right hand man James Coughlin (Jeremy Renner) does not like it. He feels that Doug would be betraying him if he left his life in Charlestown. But what complicates Doug is that he finds himself falling for Claire (Rebecca Hall), who is the bank manager that he forced to open the safe and then kidnapped and then set free in the beginning of the film.

This film tells a very realistic cops and robbers story that allows the audience to sympathize with the lead character. You feel the pain that Doug has been carrying with him his entire life. And you fully understand why he wants to leave this life. This is a story about personal redemption that is wrapped into a film noir-esque environment. It is an extremely violent and intense story. It also has an essential villian in James Coughlin. His resentment of Doug wanting out is a conflict that borders on the lines of sibling rivalry. In being a cops and robbers story it also shows relationships and conflicts that are reminiscent of The Godfather. All of the sympathies that you feel for the characters and the conflicts and relationships that they have are strong and effective parts that give the film its credibility and its sense of redemption.

To call this film great would be an understatement, The Town is clearly one of the best films of 2010 so far. Not just that but also one of the best films of Affleck’s career if not his best film to date. I certainly think that it is the best film he has ever done. With this film he not only shows that he is a great actor, but also that he has the strength to write and direct a film at the same time. He handles the film’s action very well and that is a major plus for him. Gone, Baby, Gone was in some ways of test of ability for Affleck, and it was a test that worked. The Town is one that will elevate his success to great lengths.That is how he is on the way to becoming the new Clint Eastwood. In many ways then none this movie is Affleck’s way of showing the audience that he is a talented filmmaker and actor.