The Town, and A History of Violence.

The following are shorter reviews, for some less recent films I've been meaning to watch. I've tried to keep them concise, but I can't resist a chance to ramble...

Film: The Town (Ben Affleck, 2010)

The Town is a relatively simple film. I am sure it, and the book it was based on, were trying to saying something important about crime and the American class system, but this was lost on my British sensibilities. What I was left with was a very well made thriller, with a good cast and excellent behind-the-scenes work.

       Ben Affleck is an excellent filmmaker. Whilst his acting career has had its lows, his work behind the scenes has gone from strength to strength. The Town is all the more pleasurable to watch, knowing that Affleck this year was given much acclaim for his work on Argo, a very similar type of film.

       The Town features a solid cast (even Blake Lively is decent in her limited role), with an intriguing performance from Jeremy Renner, and an amusingly vicious turn from Pete Posthlewaithe. The plot is simple, with the tense and innovative action sequences making up for the more clichéd aspects of the romantic half of the film.

Whilst I wouldn't hastily re-watch it, The Town was enjoyable, and I would definitely recommend it. Hell, I think I actually prefer it to Argo.

Film: A History of Violence (David Cronenberg, 2005)

This film is brilliant. Whilst taking some time to get started, it moves along at an impressive pace for the second and third acts. The time taken to set up the protagonist's pleasant family life is particularly appreciated in hindsight after the closing scene.

The acting is reasonably consistent from the supporting cast, with William Hurt and Ed Harris clearly enjoying themselves in their roles as mobsters. And man, Viggo Mortensen is fantastic. This is the first time I've seen him in something outside of LOTR, and I'm looking forward to catching up on his career. He plays both sides of his character to perfection, and his face in the long shots that close out acts 2 and 3 will stay with you long after the credits have rolled.

Howard Shore's score is superb, used just sparingly enough in each scene to not become over-dramatic. The cinematography in this film is also excellent, although using lots of long-takes will always put a film in my good books. Whilst the sexual and violence scenes are graphic, I wouldn't consider them to be gratuitous, as they are necessary to the themes and development of the characters (which I won't get into now).

As a whole, whilst I was skeptical during the first half an hour, I was enthralled by the end. I would heartily recommend this film.