Bank Robbery is a family business that goes much deeper than the simple act of robbing a bank, as The Town clearly demonstrates. The film begins with a bank robbery gone wrong; a hostage is taken and the need to tie up loose ends imperative. The simplicity of such an action turns into anything but as Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) develops a relationship with the hostage, Claire (Rebecca Hall). The FBI are feverishly on the hunt for his team and the one time hostage turned lover knows more than she should about one of Doug's crew, making her a prime witness should she decide to let the FBI know her secret. Everything becomes a tangled mess of personal relationships encompassed within this criminal laden world. Doug must choose between the life he knows and the prospect of a new one far from the entanglements of Charlestown. His childhood friend and accomplice, James Coughlin (Jeremy Renner), is the loose cannon constantly pressuring him to go further and demanding he do so based on his familial ties. Claire signifies a life far from anything he has ever known but the secret he hides from her is one destined to come to the surface and cause a series of repercussions wholly imaginable but hopefully avoidable. This team of bank robbers are far too perfect and FBI agent Frawley (Jon Hamm) is more than happy to go to any length, and threaten those close to them, in order to find weakness. As the film plays out it all appears to be very predictable with layer upon layer of borrowed cliches and re-hashed plot points. Yet it remains fresh in its own unassuming way. The characters typecast but still interesting. The twists expected but happily encountered, and the ending a dramatic climax where no one escapes unscathed or not emotionally bruised.

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