The Town (2010)

As he plans his next job, a longtime thief tries to balance his feelings for a bank manager connected to one of his earlier heists, as well as the F.B.I. Agent looking to bring him and his crew down.

Director:

Ben Affleck

Writers:

Peter Craig (screenplay), Ben Affleck (screenplay)

Stars:

Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 9 wins & 45 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ben Affleck	...	Doug MacRay
Rebecca Hall	...	Claire Keesey
Jon Hamm	...	FBI S.A. Adam Frawley
Jeremy Renner	...	James Coughlin
Blake Lively	...	Krista Coughlin
Slaine	...	Albert 'Gloansy' Magloan
Owen Burke	...	Desmond Elden
Titus Welliver	...	Dino Ciampa
Pete Postlethwaite	...	Fergus 'Fergie' Colm
Chris Cooper	...	Stephen MacRay
Dennis McLaughlin	...	Rusty
Corena Chase	...	Agent Quinlan
Brian Scannell	...	Henry
Kerri Dunbar	...	Henry's Girl
Tony V.	...	Vericom Crew Chief (as Tony V)

Storyline

The Charlestown neighborhood of Boston is renowned for churning out a high number of armed robbers, generation after generation. These robbers never leave their Charlestown life on their own volition, the neighborhood where there is an unwritten code to protect that lifestyle. Such robbers include friends Doug MacRay, James Coughlin, Albert 'Gloansy' Magloan and Desmond Elden. Doug and James in particular treat each other like family, as the Coughlins have realistically been as such to Doug since Doug's mother ran off and Doug's father, Stephen MacRay, was sent to prison. James' single mother sister, the drugged out Krista Coughlin, and Doug have a casual sexual relationship. The foursome carry out a mostly successful bank robbery, but due to circumstances take the bank manager, Claire Keesey, hostage for a short period before releasing her physically unharmed. They find out that Claire lives in Charlestown, so they want to ensure that she did not see anything that could incriminate ...

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Plot Keywords:

bank robbery | criminal gang | terrorism | heist | bank manager | 

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Taglines:

Welcome to the bank robbery capital of America.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, some sexuality and drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [France] Warner Bros. [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 September 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Prince of Thieves

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$37,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$23,808,032, 19 September 2010

Gross USA:

$92,186,262

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$154,026,136

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Legendary Entertainment, GK Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min 150 min (DVD extended cut) 153 min (BluRay)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ben Affleck originally wanted Mark Wahlberg for the role of James Coughlin, but he was busy shooting The Fighter (2010), so the role went to Jeremy Renner, who ended up receiving the Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

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Goofs

In the Fenway robbery sequence, Frawley goes back and forth between having a dark five o-clock shadow to being fairly clean shaven.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Doug MacRay: [narrating] Driver's name is Arthur Shea. Former Metro Police officer, fifty-seven years old. Soon as his partner leaves with the coal bag, Artie cracks a Herald, and he don't look up 'til the guy gets back. Marty Maguire. Cummins Armored courier. Five-ten, two-twenty, fifty-two years old. Picks up every Wednesday and Friday at exactly 8:12, makes a hundred and ten dollars a day, carries a Sig nine. And he's about to get robbed.
[...]

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits beyond the production logos and the title.

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Alternate Versions

The Alternate-cut has the same changes as the Extended-cut except it uses the novel's ending. When Doug goes for the car, Alex, the gangster that got sandbagged in the apartment shows up with two of his accomplices. He shoots Doug dead. Additional shots of a news report of the incident as well as Claire being alone in her house and Krista finding a bag of money in her apartment are shown.

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Connections

Featured in Late Show with David Letterman: Blake Lively/Michael C. Hall/Drake (2010)

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Soundtracks

Run It
Written by Slaine (as George Carrroll) and Statik Selektah (as Patrick Baril)
Performed by Slaine and Statik Selektah

User Reviews

Jeremy Renner intense

Four friends Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck), James Coughlin (Jeremy Renner), Albert Magloan (Slaine) and Desmond Elden (Owen Burke) are robbers working the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston. In their latest job, they take the bank manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) hostage and then let her go. Doug fake dates Claire to make sure she can't ID them. He's also having sex with James' drugged out sister Krista Coughlin (Blake Lively). Meanwhile they are being investigated by the FBI led by Agent Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm).

This is a richly character driven crime thriller. Ben Affleck knows these characters well. And acting with the intense Jeremy Renner makes Affleck better. The only actor who looks out of place is Blake Lively. She just can't get rid of that Cali feel and her accent sounds terrible. Brit Rebecca Hall does a better job than her. The action is exciting. And the story is riveting. But it's the characters and the actors that are so engaging.