The Town

**** - Say what you will about Ben Affleck’s acting ability (he seems to be somewhat polarizing in that respect) I think it is roundly agreed even by the most ardent of Affleck dislikers that his forays into directing and screenwriting have been of rather high quality regardless of what one thinks of his acting chops. This movie features Affleck in an acting, directing and screenwriting role and is of quite high quality on pretty much every level, which seems to indicate that anyone who feels he is a poor actor may have a bias against the movies in which he has acted. While this movie doesn’t present much that hasn’t been introduced in other films in one way or another, every facet of it is well above the standard action/drama lark, from story to cinematography to acting to characters. Those who know me would probably be surprised by my enjoyment of this, as it features a rather heavy romantic aspect quite prominently, and I tend to not be fond of those. That would be a very astute observation, but what made this part of the movie acceptable to me was that it wasn’t just thrown into the film to get a little T & A into it, but was rather a fully integrated part of the main plot. And I’m a sucker for movies that feature thick Boston accents, anyway.