Once Hollywood's golden boy turned tabloid fodder, Ben Affleck has resurrected his career in recent years with smart roles and an excellent directorial debut with Gone Baby Gone. His second foray in the director's chair, The Town, is his unbridled masterpiece. Affleck achieves a filmmaking trifecta. He is tremendous here as a director, actor, and even though he won the screenwriting Oscar for Goodwill Hunting; his adaptation of Chuck Hogan's Prince of Thieves may leave a little less space in the awards cabinet. The Town is a thrilling actioner, but deeply personal and moving as well. Affleck takes a giant leap forward as an artist with this film.

The Town refers to Charlestown, Massachusetts; a poor Irish neighborhood on the outskirts of Boston - its claim to fame, spawning more bank robbers than any place else in America. Doug MacRay (Affleck) and Jem (Jeremy Renner) are the new robbery kings in Boston; childhood friends who grew up in criminal families, they run an elite heist crew for the local crime boss and florist, Fergie (Pete Postlethwaite). Their string of flawless robberies runs into a hitch when Jem kidnaps a beautiful bank manager, Claire (Rebecca Hall). They release her. But soon come to realize she lives four blocks away from them and is talking to the FBI (John Hamm). Doug's decision to check her out leads to a foolish and dangerous romance. She awakens in him the desire for a life without crime and violence, but Doug's world is not one you can simply walk away from.

What makes The Town so interesting is the authenticity of the characters. Affleck has stuck to what he knows in his previous films and takes that to a pinnacle here. The neighborhood, its people, they are so genuine. I didn't recognize Blake Lively as Jem's drug-addicted, single mother sister. The accents, the dialogue, swagger, it's as real as it gets. So when the character conflicts begin to emerge, the doomsday events that unfold have weight to the audience. This is a fine ensemble cast, but the specificity of the performances seems like marionette strings being pulled by Affleck. As the lead actor and director, you can see him shaping these performances into precise delivery on screen.

The action scenes are slick and well paced, but not set up to add a bang to the script every ten pages. These are criminal acts for money, dangerous activities driven by a ruthless man. You'd have to be crazy to attempt any of this stuff. This point is hammered in. Doug has lived on the edge of the knife for so long, resigned himself to the fate of a criminal, that when Claire opens up the possibility for a different life; it is truly an epiphany. It's easy to have a death wish when there's nothing to live for.

Affleck's shooting style is reminiscent of Clint Eastwood and Michael Mann. He adores Boston. The city is as much a character as any person. But he accurately depicts the shock, blood, and raw violence of gun battles. This is not a Hong Kong style shoot 'em up, but reminiscent of the climactic battle in Heat. Some might say Affleck borrows a little too liberally from Heat, but I'll take that realism any day in a film that has so much dramatic tension.

I can't give this film a perfect rating because it is somewhat predictable, and there are some things I couldn't wholly buy into - mostly the actions of the police and FBI. That said, this is a great crime drama and worth every nickel to plunk down to see. Affleck steps into a higher league. I sincerely hope he keeps up this level of quality filmmaking.