1396 - The Town

As a consolation of my film not getting into TIFF this year one of the Canadian programmers, Steve Gravestock, was very generous and gave me a free Industry Pass through something called the Irving Avrich Fund. I have a luncheon next week for it so I'm curious to know more, but in the mean time I'm using the pass to see pretty much everything I can. I get into screenings that aren't open to the public (which makes it super easy to see the films so long as you're there half hour or so before the film). So over the next week and a bit look forward to several reviews at the end of each day (with a lag come the weekend). But without further delay, my thoughts on this fine film:
Affleck has gotten kind of a pass an actor I think. I don't know why - I've always liked him. But I think that Affleck the director has just given Affleck the actor a second wind. As a director Affleck is as good, if not better, than anyone else working in this genre of film. Maybe it's the people he's hired to work with, maybe not - it doesn't matter. This film, which is by no means short, flows so goddamn well. It's a thriller with a shit-load of awesome character work. Rebecca Hall is really lovely in this film, and we're going to see A LOT more of her in the years to come. She's in at least one other film at the festival and I'm hoping to get to see that one as well. What's really great about this is it lives in that style of crime thriller where the good guys and bad guys are both on par in terms of their intelligence. The cat and mouse are on equal footing so to speak. The entire cast is pretty fantastic and Affleck knows how to lighten it up from time to time. The set-ups and pay-offs are well hidden within some lovely character moments, and there's a backstory side-plot about a characters mother that almost breaks your heart.
This is a great film and I know it's going to get a big release some time in the near future. Do yourself a favour and see it.