Venice Film Festival: The Town

Finally winding down on the first of the fall festivals this season, we're getting first word on exactly how great Ben Affleck's latest effort, The Town, is. It sounds like critics are hailing this film as a general success, if not a outstanding one. It's as much as I expected from the film, as it didn't quite look like the sort of film that would rake in Oscar nominations. Still, from what these reviews indicate, it should be worthy of your time more than the typical fare out there.

Sheri Linden (Hollywood Reporter): "The script, credited to Peter Craig, Affleck and Aaron Stockard, taps into the right veins of provincialism and sarcasm but moves less surely between reckless action and intimate drama. Doug's moral distance from the accelerating brutality of his gang's jobs, and especially from Jem's volatility -- so evident in Renner's every move -- is meant to up the stakes, and a third-act heist at Fenway Park just looks crazy. Meting out pieces of Doug's backstory -- complete with a brief and bracing turn by Chris Cooper as his father -- isn't enough. You feel the storytelling wheels turning, not the intended visceral punch."

Guy Lodge (In Contention): "The truth is that Affleck the director and Affleck the actor are markedly similar in personality: the cool control he exerts over the material here mirrors the firm, unflustered intelligence he has long projected on screen, and seems equally liable to accusations of blandness. Look closer, however, and there’s wit and precision in his shooting style, and a secure sense of community among his excellent ensemble that doesn’t come merely from inviting a gaggle of terrific actors to a single set; Clint Eastwood could make this very film and receive substantially more credit for it."

I suppose The Town has a better chance of impressing audiences than The American did. Trailers promoted it as an action film, and while I don't believe there will be much of that, I still expect it to be pack plenty of thrills.