The Town (2010)

Last updated:
August 24, 2025

The Town (2010) is a gripping crime thriller directed by Ben Affleck, who also stars in the film. Set in the gritty Boston neighborhood of Charlestown, the film blends action, drama, and romance with character-driven storytelling and themes of loyalty, redemption, and the inescapability of one’s past.

Table of Contents

Detailed Summary

Opening: “This Is Charlestown”

The movie opens with an on-screen note: “There are over 300 bank robberies in Boston every year. Most of the professionals live in a one-square-mile neighborhood called Charlestown.” That neighborhood, as we learn, is the birthplace of generations of criminals, including the film’s central characters.

Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck), the leader of a crew of skilled bank robbers, orchestrates a heist on a Cambridge bank along with his volatile best friend James “Jem” Coughlin (Jeremy Renner) and their crew. During the robbery, they take the bank manager, Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall), hostage for a brief time before releasing her unharmed. The crew later discovers Claire lives in their neighborhood, which raises fears she could identify them to the FBI.

Complication: Doug and Claire

Doug starts following Claire to see how much she knows. He eventually approaches her under false pretenses, and the two begin a romantic relationship. As they grow closer, Doug’s inner conflict deepens—he is torn between the life of crime he was raised in and the new life he could have with Claire.

Meanwhile, FBI Agent Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm) intensifies his investigation. He closes in on Doug’s crew by surveilling them and trying to turn them against one another.

Tension Rises: The Diamond Heist

Doug plans another heist, this time targeting an armored car. After successfully pulling it off, tensions between him and Jem escalate, especially when Jem begins to suspect Doug is hiding something—namely, his relationship with Claire.

Doug begins to think seriously about leaving Charlestown for good, with Claire, to start over. But his past keeps pulling him back in, especially through “The Florist” (Pete Postlethwaite), the local crime boss who controls many of Charlestown’s criminals.

Final Heist: Fenway Park

The crew is forced into one last score: robbing Fenway Park, the iconic home of the Boston Red Sox. It’s their biggest and most dangerous heist yet, planned by The Florist. The job involves stealing millions from the stadium’s cash room during a game. It goes wrong when the FBI, tipped off, is waiting.

A dramatic shootout ensues. Gloansy (Slaine) and Dez (Owen Burke), two members of the crew, are killed. Jem goes out in a blaze of glory, choosing death over arrest in a standoff with police. Doug narrowly escapes in disguise.

Movie Ending

Doug returns to find Claire, who is under FBI surveillance. Using a coded conversation, he realizes she’s aware of the setup and still wants to help him escape. She gives him a signal—mentioning the “sunny days” that he had said earlier meant “everything’s OK.”

Doug leaves a bag full of stolen money for Claire, telling her in a note to use it to make the community better, possibly to fund a public skating rink in memory of her brother, who died young.

Doug ends up in a small house in Florida, alone, watching kids play hockey—a quiet, bittersweet conclusion. He has survived and escaped the life, but at the cost of his friends and any real relationship with Claire.

The final voiceover is Doug reflecting on his life, his regrets, and hopes. He ends by saying, “I know I’ll see you again—this side or the other.”

Are There Post-Credits Scenes?

No, The Town does not have any post-credits scenes. Once the final scene fades out, the credits roll with no additional footage or teasers.

Type of Movie

The Town is a crime thriller with elements of drama and romance. It’s a character-driven film that balances fast-paced heist sequences with emotional and moral dilemmas.

Cast

Ben Affleck as Doug MacRay
Jeremy Renner as James “Jem” Coughlin
Rebecca Hall as Claire Keesey
Jon Hamm as FBI Agent Adam Frawley
Blake Lively as Krista Coughlin
Chris Cooper as Stephen MacRay (Doug’s father)
Pete Postlethwaite as Fergus “The Florist” Colm

Film Music and Composer

The score was composed by Harry Gregson-Williams and David Buckley. The music mixes moody, suspenseful tones with emotional undercurrents that match the film’s themes of internal conflict and heartbreak. The soundtrack also includes songs by artists like Ray LaMontagne and Coughlin’s Irish-inspired tracks that reflect the Boston setting.

Filming Locations

Boston, Massachusetts – The film was shot on location in Charlestown, Fenway Park, North End, and other Boston neighborhoods. These locations are vital to the film’s authenticity, grounding the narrative in a real, culturally rich setting.
MCI Cedar Junction – Prison scenes were filmed at this real Massachusetts Correctional Institution.
Fenway Park – A real heist sequence was filmed in the actual stadium, adding realism and tension to one of the movie’s most critical scenes.

Awards and Nominations

Academy Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actor: Jeremy Renner
National Board of Review: Named one of the Top Ten Films of 2010
Multiple Critics’ Choice and Screen Actors Guild nominations

While it didn’t win major Oscars, Jeremy Renner’s performance received widespread praise, and the film gained strong critical acclaim.

Behind the Scenes Insights

Ben Affleck shadowed real FBI agents and former bank robbers to prepare.
Real Charlestown locals appeared in the film, especially in crowd scenes.
Pete Postlethwaite, who played The Florist, was terminally ill during filming but gave one of his final (and most chilling) performances.
Jeremy Renner spent time in Charlestown bars and with locals to adopt the dialect and mannerisms.
The cast underwent weapons training to make the heists feel authentic.

Inspirations and References

The movie is based on the novel “Prince of Thieves” by Chuck Hogan, though the film streamlines and condenses the story. Ben Affleck also drew inspiration from classic heist films like Heat (1995), incorporating similar themes of duality and professional codes among criminals.

Alternate Endings and Deleted Scenes

The Blu-ray includes an Extended Cut and an Alternate Ending:

In the alternate ending, Doug is caught by the FBI while trying to escape and dies in a shootout.
Deleted scenes offer more depth to Claire’s background and Krista’s relationship with Doug, but these were cut for pacing.

Book Adaptations and Differences

The movie simplifies and shortens many plot threads from Chuck Hogan’s “Prince of Thieves”. In the book:

Doug’s mother’s story is more fleshed out.
Doug actually dies in the end.
The Claire-Doug romance is more complex and less romanticized.

The film chose to make Doug more redeemable and added a more hopeful, though still melancholic, tone.

Memorable Scenes and Quotes

Key Scenes

The nun-masked Fenway Park heist
Jem confronting Doug in Claire’s apartment
The armored car shootout in the narrow Boston alley
Doug’s emotional goodbye letter to Claire

Iconic Quotes

“Charlestown’s got more bank robbers than churches.” – Opening narration
“You’re gonna hurt someone.” – Claire
“I need your help. I can’t tell you what it is. You can never ask me about it later. And we’re gonna hurt some people.” – Doug to Jem
“Whose car are we gonna take?” – Jem’s legendary response

Easter Eggs and Hidden Details

The masks used in the robberies (nuns, skulls) are inspired by real-life Boston bank heists.
The phrase “Sunny days” is a secret code between Doug and Claire.
Many of the Charlestown bar scenes used real bar patrons for authenticity.
Ben Affleck’s brother Casey Affleck makes a brief vocal cameo as an unseen voice on a prison phone call.

Trivia

Ben Affleck also co-wrote the screenplay.
Fenway Park granted rare permission to film a shootout inside the stadium.
The town of Charlestown initially resisted filming due to the film’s portrayal of crime, but locals later supported the production.
Blake Lively reportedly shocked Affleck during her audition with how naturally she fit the role of Krista.

Why Watch?

Watch The Town if you’re a fan of intelligent, gritty crime dramas that balance adrenaline with emotion. It offers powerful performances, especially from Renner and Affleck, stunning action sequences, and a grounded, morally complex story rooted in a real-world setting.

The Town (2010)