The Town (2010)
88%RT Audience Score: 85%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
9 wins & 46 nominations total
Tense, smartly written, and wonderfully cast, The Town proves that Ben Affleck has rediscovered his muse — and that he’s a director to be reckoned with
The Town is like a Boston cream pie – it’s got layers, it’s rich, and it’s satisfying. Ben Affleck proves he’s got the chops to direct a gritty crime drama, and the cast delivers some killer performances. Sure, it’s not perfect, but it’s a fun ride that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat. Plus, those nun masks? Iconic.
Production Company(ies)
Toho Company,
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Bunker Hill, Charlestown, Massachusetts, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, some sexuality and drug use
Year of Release
2010
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital SDDS DTS
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:2h 4m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 17, 2010 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 17, 2010
Genre(s)
Crime/Mystery & thriller
Keyword(s)
starring Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Blake Lively, Titus Welliver, Chris Cooper, Pete Postlethwaite, Slaine, Owen Burke, Brian Scannell, Kerri Dunbar, Tony V., Charlestown, Boston, bank robbery, heist, crime, thriller, drama, directed by Ben Affleck, written by Peter Craig, Ben Affleck, Aaron Stockard, produced by Graham King, Basil Iwanyk, reviewed by Deborah Ross, Candice Frederick, Jim Schembri, David Stratton, Paul Byrnes, Eric Kohn, Graeme Tuckett, James McMahon, Sean Collier, Mike Massie, Dan Buffa, R-rated, Dolby Digital, DTS, SDDS, $92.2M box office gross, $37M budget, FBI, hostage, love, brotherhood, redemption, Boston accent, masks, gunfights, car chases, romance, tension, suspense, action-packed, character-driven, gritty, atmospheric, intense, emotional
Worldwide gross: $154,026,136
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $209,381,053
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 667
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 22,833,266
US/Canada gross: $92,186,262
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $125,316,762
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 604
US/Canada opening weekend: $23,808,032
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $32,364,318
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 408
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $37,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $50,297,301
Production budget ranking: 792
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $27,085,097
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $131,998,655
ROI to date (est.): 171%
ROI ranking: 707
Rebecca Hall – Claire Keesey
Jon Hamm – FBI S.A. Adam Frawley
Jeremy Renner – James Coughlin
Blake Lively – Krista Coughlin
Titus Welliver – Dino Ciampa
Director(s)
Ben Affleck
Writer(s)
Peter Craig, Ben Affleck, Aaron Stockard
Producer(s)
Graham King, Basil Iwanyk
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
9 wins & 46 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (235) | Top Critics (64) | Fresh (216) | Rotten (19)
So this isn’t fresh, exactly, but it is tense and exciting and well performed and you do end up caring about the people you’ve been manipulated into caring about. I ask you: what more could you want from a trip to the cinema?
August 30, 2018
Deborah Ross
The Spectator
TOP CRITIC
The Town is a definite must-see.
September 11, 2017 | Rating: A
Candice Frederick
Reel Talk Online
TOP CRITIC
As far as a developing directing talent goes, The Town is to Ben Affleck what Pulp Fiction was to Quentin Tarantino. It’s that good.
October 22, 2010 | Rating: 4/5
Jim Schembri
The Age (Australia)
TOP CRITIC
In lesser hands, the central relationship might not have worked; but Affleck and Hall make it completely believable, adding to the texture of this classy thriller.
October 15, 2010 | Rating: 4/5
David Stratton
At the Movies (Australia)
TOP CRITIC
It’s better than a simple heist movie and less efficient than a really good one. Affleck has made it about character and place, at the expense of the heist, so it’s a film of mixed attractions.
October 13, 2010 | Rating: 3/5
Paul Byrnes
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
Affleck’s sophomore offering contains plenty of pay-offs and a slick narrative structure, easily solidifying his growing reputation as a director with the right stuff for a familiar good time.
October 12, 2010
Eric Kohn
indieWire
TOP CRITIC
While by no means faultless, The Town is a cut above the average crime drama thanks to its emphasis on character over carnage.
March 8, 2022
Graeme Tuckett
Stuff.co.nz
A film about Boston. And crime. We know, unthinkable isn’t it…
May 20, 2021 | Rating: 2.5/5
James McMahon
NME
The performances are lively and the set pieces – particularly the masks, which are a perfect touch – are memorable.
February 8, 2021 | Rating: 8/10
Sean Collier
Pittsburgh Magazine
Even with its flashy, edgy, rambunctious, nerve-wracking finale, the successes or failures of the rather distasteful antiheroes prove utterly inconsequential and uninspiring.
November 30, 2020 | Rating: 4/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
If you mixed Michael Mann’s Heat with Good Will Hunting, you’d get this flick.
November 10, 2020
Dan Buffa
KSDK News (St. Louis)
The Town isn’t as impressive as Affleck’s directing debut, 2007’s Gone Baby Gone, but he handles the action scenes with brutal efficiency and gets terrific performances from his co-stars.
October 31, 2020
Jason Best
Movie Talk…
Plot
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 them if they were to ever run into her. As such, Doug begins a personal relationship with her to find out what she knows and what she’s told the police and the FBI, who have taken charge of the investigation. He learns that she has kept some information from the authorities for her own protection but information that could identify James in particular. But Doug slowly falls for her, as she does for him. Ultimately, Doug dreams about leaving his Charlestown life to be with Claire anywhere but there. But Doug has to try and keep his true identity from her, and keep the fact that he is seeing her from his colleagues. But leaving is not as easy as he would like as he and the gang are tasked with a big job by a local gangster named Fergie whether Doug likes it or not. And Adam Frawley, the FBI’s lead investigator, comes into evidence that links the foursome to the bank robbery and a subsequent armored car heist, so is on their tail for evidence that will send them away dead or alive.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The Town features a star-studded cast including Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, and Jeremy Renner.
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